What a Difference...

...a year makes! Our little Augie is all grown up! It hardly seems possible that he's been with us a year now. It sure didn't take him that long, though, to train us. 

The best seat in the house isn't a seat at all; he's the resident "hearth hound"!

He's filled our hearts and home with pure, unconditional love over the past twelve months.

And in other news around the house, (I'm trying to catch up!) the Christmas Cacti decided to put on their show a month early, I suppose they're Thanksgiving Cacti instead.

My parents sent this, a Swiss Cheese plant, when I broke my wrist at the end of August; it's already doubled in size! Have you ever seen one of these before? It was new to me.

These treasures were gifts from my mother, they belonged to her mother and are at least 100 years old. The smaller, clear glass cake plate is also a pedestal style, I tipped it up to show the detail. I'm so grateful for these and can't wait to use them for Christmas entertaining. 

I was privileged to be asked to create paraments for Advent for our sanctuary at church.

They were dedicated and placed into service this past Sunday. 

We watched this movie recently, if you like happy endings like I do, you'll love it! ⭐⭐⭐

I've got this pretty piece under the needle currently; this top is one of MANY (in the 100's!) left behind by a lifelong quilter who passed away last year. Her daughter is donating them to charitable causes, I'm honored to help her bring them to completion as blessings to others. 

So, back to "what a difference"... how about twelve years? Augie's not the only one growing up at the speed of light. Mason is driving now, he's not four anymore; and I tried SO hard not to blink. Sigh. 

Life is Good!

Fast-Forward Once Again!

Here's the second sampler quilt top from the bin of old blocks-of-the-month; this one, also, from 2007! As explained in the previous post, I had stashed the blocks along with fabric purchased at the time for finishing; I'm SEW glad that I did that! The extra green and dark red came in handy for those cornerstones in the pieced sashing. I found this setting idea in Sharyn Craig's Setting Solutions book (one of the most often used books on the shelf), I thought it lightened up the whole piece considerably. Luckily, I bought enough of that mottled caramel color for the borders (and I have just enough for binding, too!). This top measures 60" X 75" and will be named "Autumn Stars", it's the fall cousin to "Summer Stars", below. 

The first one is quilted and off the rails, it's hard to believe that these are the exact same block patterns as the one above! 

I need to scour the stash closet for something to use for binding on this one now.

It's that time again: we've had a nap blanket "round up" for the three PreK classes that our small group supplies at a local elementary school. A full complement was delivered yesterday, in time for next week's first day! I've posted about this project many times before, this is the eleventh year that we've provided these to the school that we "adopted". Another fast-forward moment, it hardly seems possible that we've been doing these for that long! You can read more about the nap blanket project here. 

We were able to have lunch with our daughter and oldest grandson in the Capital City last week, celebrating both of their birthdays. Mason, now 13, was thrilled to see that he's ever-so-slightly taller than me now; it might be just a smidgen, but he'll claim it. This, for certain, was a fast-forward for me!

~Marbles Found~

One more flimsy out of the old blocks-of-the-month bin! This one is not nearly as "vintage"; these were assembled (and then promptly stashed) in 2015, only six years ago! This is small-ish: only 36" X 45" at this point. It was made using a line of Moda fabric called "Marbles". I may have located enough of that creamy background fabric online to border it up, making it finish to a nice, lap quilt size; fingers crossed that it will match. I did have a suggested final layout of this one in the packet but I ignored it and simply improvised by setting it block-to-block which, I think, gives it a modern, spontaneous, look and feel. Regardless, it's been checked off the "to do" list and now will be queued up, along with a few others(!) for quilting. Now, let's drop that remote control that's fast-forwarding through the days, weeks, months and years at break-neck speed! I can scarcely keep up.

Life is Good!

Nana, Now With Years Of Experience

It seems like only the day before yesterday that this precious little one arrived, making me a Nana for the very first time; I suspected then, but know now, that this day marked the beginning of a most special stage of my life. Fast forward to today:  
This handsome young man, shown in both photos above, is now eleven years old! Happy birthday to this fun-loving, sports-minded, smart, quick, curious, cheerful and polite boy that we're ever so proud to call our grandson!

"...Grandmas can shed the yoke of responsibility, relax, and enjoy their grandchildren in a way that was not possible when they were raising their own children. And, they can glow in the realization that here is the seed of life that will harvest generations to come... "

-Erma Bombeck, American writer (1927-1996)

Life is Good!

Third In A Series

This past weekend was a repeat of our "one on one" grandchildren weekends, which, in actuality, should be called "one on two" as we've been hosting one child at a time with both grandparents! This past weekend it was Mason's turn. We picked him up on Friday afternoon in the Capital City and enjoyed every minute of his company. Now a fourth grader, Mason loves to read and play sports. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate for any outdoor activities but we made the most of being confined indoors. On Saturday, Mason surprised his cousins by attending Gregory's Pinewood Derby! Uncle Kyle even had a car for Mason to race after the Cub Scouts' competition concluded; Mason raced Lynnleigh in the "family fun run". Lynnleigh's little car turned out, surprisingly, to be super fast; but Mason ended up getting an even better prize at the end when Uncle Kyle let him keep the car!💗

Mason (lane 1) vs. Lynnleigh (lane 2) in the "Fun Run" race.

After the Pinewood Derby all the cousins were treated to the new Lego movie, they loved it. The rest of the weekend was spent playing games (perfecting those Cribbage skills), eating, church, and visiting; Mason is a smart and funny boy who's so much fun to spend time with, and we're not one bit biased! Before we knew it, the weekend had flown by and Mason was off, returning back home once again. 

Speaking of time flying-- another photo of Mason at another Chick Fil A 

(see now, in the photo collage above for comparison).

Wasn't this just the day before yesterday? Sigh.

Life is Good!

Forced Expulsion and Other Happenings

Bear with me through this post, it has lots of photos and a weekend update too. This was my the state of my sewing room on Friday. Being banished from the studio has resulted in a change of pace and tidier, better organized spaces in other parts of the house; not necessarily a bad thing! I have to admit, just looking at the plastic drapes, floor cloths and chaos in my favorite room gives me a case of the jitters. But, the face lift will be worth it. Freshly painted wall surfaces, ceiling and trim will revitalize the appearance of the room and recharge my creative energy when I return.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

So, late last week I tackled dresser drawers and my closet. The closet was a MAJOR undertaking. It was in dire need of cleaning out and organizing! I did not take a before photo. Trust me, it was bad. I organized from the top down. Shelves first, and then hanging items. At long last all of the wire coat hangers (how do the multiply exponentially?) are gone, replaced by cleaner and quieter plastic hangers.

I used the one year rule for identifying items to be donated. Some items had taken up valuable closet space for ten to fifteen times that! Of course, keepsake items have been retained. But, even with those were carefully scrutinized first. I was ruthless.

This was the final result. I thought I was done. Neat, tidy, organized. I felt like my clothes could breathe again, I know I was breathing easier having this task behind me, it had weighed me down for a very long time. Speaking of weight though, if only those closet rods could talk!

The donation bags ready to go. You can't tell relative scale here, these are 42 gallon bags. I "borrowed" the bags from my husband's workshop. They are "contractor grade" plastic, 3 mil thick, they're very strong and sturdy. It's a good thing because I filled them and they were HEAVY.  I am thankful now that those closet rods never buckled, in all truthfulness they've had the largest load lifted from them. Wow.

About the time I was finishing up the closet I received a desperate phone call from our daughter. She needed some help with Lucy Ann, our son-in-law was traveling and she and Mason were on their way to the hospital, he was in need of an emergency appendectomy! As luck would have it, our son was in the car at the time, near the Capital City. Uncle Kyle to the rescue. He picked her up and brought her to us.

Here's Mason after his successful surgery. It was a textbook procedure and he was on his way home (yes, HOME!) two hours later. His Daddy arrived back in town just before Mason went into surgery. The surgery, performed laparoscopically, plus an otherwise healthy young boy combined to make this procedure, in essence, one of out-patient status. This seems almost unbelievable to me. Twenty six years ago his own mother was in the hospital for three days when she had the same surgery; and she didn't get souvenir photos of her procedure to bring home! Mason not only has photos but stories to share too!

Meanwhile, back at Chez Goodneedle, little Miss Lucy Ann had a fun sleepover with Nana and Paw Paw and staged a perfectly wonderful fashion show on Saturday, modeling her mother's old prom dresses! These sparkly sequined dresses, a pair of rhinestone-studded sandals and her imagination were all she needed for a great morning of dress-up fun. We returned her to her family later in the day, she was eager to get home and check on her big brother. 

Yesterday after church I showed off my now clean closet to my son and daughter-in-law. (Yes, I lead a very exciting life!) My daughter-in-law, after complimenting me on getting rid of  all those horrible wire coat hangers,  graciously informed me that I was using the wrong style hangers for my slacks. She pointed out how this style (above) has the vertical posts to stabilize them for the weight of slacks on the bottom bar. I had no idea! A few substitutions were easily made and I was in complete plastic coat hanger compliance! Am I the only one who didn't know this?

All is well.

And back in the Capital City: Legos and a lap tray. Let the healing begin.

Life is Good!

EIGHT Already!

How did this happen? EIGHT years old-- already!?! 

Where else to celebrate Mason's birthday on a 100 degree day in the Capital City than at the pool?

Time waits for no one; Lucy Ann, our second oldest grandchild, will begin Kindergarten in a few short weeks. But, for now, fun in the sun is her favorite daily activity. As it should be.

After cupcakes and candles it was back to the pool to cool off. Happy Birthday, Mason!

 Eight is great!

Life is Good!

Subtle Shifts

Things are changing... albeit slowly, the shifts are subtle ones. The changes take place one. day. at. a. time. Who notices such things as they occur? But then, all of a sudden, it has happened. The mornings grow just a degree or two cooler when I step outside to walk each day. One by one the darkening evenings happen a moment or two sooner. The green leaves of summer surrender their edges to nature's paintbrush for a makeover. The landscape is transformed. Summer releases her grip and slowly, silently, slips into fall. Babies become first graders.

Time marches on and waits for noone.

Hold on as tight as you can, enjoy each and every day; the shifts are subtle but changes will happen... celebrate them.

Life is Good!

 

SEVEN!

The weekend was a busy one! We spent Saturday in the Captial City helping Mason celebrate another birthday, they're coming faster and faster each year it seems. Seven years old already!  SEVEN!! Wow. He has a loving a giving heart; his request, in lieu of gifts, was that his friends bring non perishable food items to be donated to The Food Bank. After bowling and pizza, the family (both sets of grandparents, Mom, Dad, Mason and Lucy Ann) drove to The Food Bank to drop off the donations; we all pitched and volunteered there together, sorting fresh corn for distribution. It was one terrific day we'll all remember.

Oh, and if you're wondering how old the birthday boy's sister is now, here you go. She'll be holding up all the fingers on that hand come October. Sigh.

Life is Good!