Past, Present and Future

Past - Here's a quilt top 5 years in the making (60" x 60"). I finally finished it at Cindy's Up-North Quilt Retreat. Baptist Fans keep calling out to me for the quilting. I don't think I want to hand quilt it though. Not sure how I would go about it on the machine.

Present - Claire is very adamant about not decorating or listening to Holiday music or any other acknowledgment of Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving. This past weekend she admitted that it was just too beautiful to waste the good weather. She decorated the front of the house with lights and bows and garland. The lollipops are a new addition this year.

Future - not very far away now-unless you're 6 years old - then it's forever! This is the "real" Santa at Van Atta's Holiday Open House.  Cubby is hoping for a very Batman Christmas.

Now We are Six

Saturday morning, it was off to the Fiddle Scouts, a newly created music program by The Ten Pound Fiddle.  Kids get hands on opportunities to learn about instruments and music. This month's program was on drums. What 6 year old doesn't like drums? Cubby did ask to leave after about the first 10 minutes of warm up songs but when they split the group into ages 6 and over and he got to go with the big kids, it was so long Gamma Gamma. 

 

Next month's program is about Ukuleles and one of Cubby's favorite people is going to be the "Scout Master". 

Yep, he had a birthday this month. Still haven't quite gotten rid of the training wheels. I'm sure next spring we'll just have to go for it!  Still time to enjoy a few more beautiful Michigan fall days.

You Lookin' at Me?

Cindy had a visitor this evening.  She gave us a call and Cubby and I drove over to check out this praying mantis that had landed in her potato vine.  Quite the handsome devil, don't you think?

Someone at work told me about an app for my phone - Runkeeper. I love it! Every five minutes it tells me how long I've been walking, how far I've gone, what's my average minutes per mile and launches my iTunes so I can listen and walk at the same time. I actually walked a 5k on Sunday just walking around the neighborhood. Now how do I get it to do dishes?

Give it Another Go

I haven't done much quilting lately. My quilt room is probably the hottest room in my house. I have central air conditioning but it never seems to really cool off the upstairs. Someday I'll need to invest in better insulation.

I'm also busy taking care of a very busy 5 (he'll tell you 5 and a HALF) year old. The other day I tried to sneak upstairs. Just for yuks I counted... I made it to 19 before both Cubby AND Chloe were at the quilt room door.

 Here is what happens when you try to sew "just one more seam" when it's late at night and you're really too tired.

Next night. OK, that's the way it's supposed to go.

Finally. Here is Terry's finished block. At this rate it would take me HOW LONG? to make enough blocks for a quilt?

Today's rain (finally!) has reminded us that cooler, quilting weather is on the way.

It's been a warm summer (ok 'hot' but you'll never find me complaining about the heat because I really hate being cold) but I'm not ready to give up on summer quite yet.

"Gamma, Gamma. Can I play with your phone?"

One More Skill

For those of you who don't know, I broke down and purchased a "Smart Phone" about a month ago to go on the trip to North Carolina.  My old phone (for the last 10 years!), which I dearly loved, which fit beautifully into my pocket, which was just a phone and uncomplicated, would no longer hold a charge.  I asked about a new battery and was told they were no longer carried in the store but that I could contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer's rep almost laughed at me and just said, "sorry".

Since I was going on a trip and might want access to email or Mapquest or Google and since I have a iMac at home, I purchased an iPhone. Seamless integration, Cloud and all that - what???

Anyway, this weekend Cindy and I went to the Ann Arbor Quilt Show. Here is the first picture taken with my iPhone (which has more megapixels than my Nikon camera). I wasn't sure how uploading would work. My faith was that I only had to connect the cord to my iMac and Apple would do all the rest. Yay! It worked! 

Next on the list is cropping and resizing...

The photo on the left behind the plastic sleeve is the original photo. The resulting quilt is on the right.

Rock climbing Cubby out on a perfect Sunday morning bike ride.  Love it!

Another Birthday

Another year. Happy 2012 and Happy Birthday to me! It was also Ian's birthday so we celebrated together.

Cubby is always up for a party.

My sister gave me a present of fabric money. I hope it doesn't upset Jan's tummy.

Can't Sit Down

Cubby and Claire went off early Saturday morning to Vet-a-Visit at MSU.  They had fun seeing the animals. Cubby said his favorite was seeing a horse on a treadmill. He wasn't interested in sticking his hand inside the see-thru cow though.  He got a little stuffed cow and had a personal consultation with the vet. Most kids said their animals had broken legs or sore tummies. Cubby told the vet that his cow had "boiling water on his head". They wrapped it in a big bandage. I can tell it's going to take years to live down that trauma... can you say therapy?

Cubby looks quite natural with a stethoscope don't 'cha think? Claire said other kids sat on the chair with the animal in their lap. Cubby insisted on standing because he was the animal doctor and that's what they do. He's got a mind of his own! 

Christmas Mayhem

Does it seem like the Holidays get a little crazier each year? This year Santa actually stopped by our house on Christmas Eve. Jacob received a Nerf Football and was very excited to see Santa. After Santa went off to visit other boys and girls, Jacob put his head in his hands and exclaimed, "Oh no! Santa brought me the wrong present! I wanted a penguin Pillow Pet!".  We tried to explain that Santa would be back during the night and could still bring the penguin but Jacob wasn't too sure. Thank goodness, on Christmas Morning there it was under the tree. 

"I knew it!  Just what I wanted!"  One happy 4 year old. 

**Note jealous dog tail between Jacob and Santa.

In all the pre-holiday craziness, I actually forgot to give Jacob his Cowboy Quilt?!? So for all of you procrastinators out there, keep on!  I wasn't finishing the binding in the wee hours of the morning. If so, the quilt would have been under the tree and probably pushed aside to get to the toys. This way it can be its own presentation and may get a more appreciated reception.

Here is the Country Stitches block #11. After lunch I'm off to pick up the 12th and final block. It's not my colors but I think the blocks will make a nice quilt for my parent's bed. My sister said that's a good idea since the one they are currently using is one she made in the 70's. You'd think with two quilters in the family.....

Foster Fridays

Another generation of Foster Fridays!

Time goes so fast!  It seems like just yesterday that my kids, Irene's kids, Mary Hutchin's twins and Enola's kids were running around the library and playground at Foster on Friday afternoons.  And now we have the next generation.  Foster Community Center is a wonderful resource to have in our community.  A great place for quilters to gather on Friday afternoons.  

Fenner Apple Butter Festival

Whew, here I am!  Don't tell any of my perspective employers but I am so technically savvy that when I went to disconnect the charging cord for my IPOD, I pulled out the keyboard cord in error.  Kept tapping those keys and nothing happened!  At least I figured it out myself and didn't call the GEEK Squad (Ian) or anything. That really would have been embarrassing!

On Saturday we went to the Fenner Nature Center Apple Butter Festival. Cubby actually remembered being there last year.  We had to be there by 2:30pm so Cubby could hear his friend Ben (Hassenger) play the guitar. Ben even played Cubby's favorite song: "Jake" of course!

Also saw John P. and Dan B. and Jean C quilting for CCQG.

Cubby got to pet a really big snake! Looks like the snake is either trying to eat Cubby's hat or tell him a sssssecret.

Cubby still likes to cuddle with his mom.  Hold on to those precious moments mom. They go fast!

Gamma Gamma was pretty happy to spend a beautiful fall afternoon in the woods too!

Cubby's Got Wheels!

Yesterday, Cubby went to the store and picked out his Toy Story big boy bike. I liked the red Disney "Cars" bike with the flames on the side but he wanted Toy Story. This photo was taken with Claire's cell phone. I'm sure Gamma Gamma will take many pictures the next time he shows up in my driveway with his new wheels.

Pharmacy Tech-The Home Stretch

Here's half of the 'Get a Skill, Get a Job' Pharmacy Technician Associate Class. The other half decided not to get in on the frivolities. At 9:30 on a Friday night after a whole week of class and 22 hours working at the pharmacy, you get a little silly. We're at LCC, standing in front of the Horizontal Laminar Flow Hood (which is obscuring half of my face, oh well...). The hood blows air at 90 miles/min outward so that no particles get into any medications that you are mixing in the sterile area within the hood. That's our instructor on the far left in the lovely chapeau.

Only 2 1/2 more weeks to go. I feel like I've lost touch with everybody but as the 'govenator' says, "I'll be back"!

Here's a photo I took awhile ago of Cubby Batman at Post Oak. I think he's already grown several inches since then. Yesterday we went to the Meridian Farmer's Market and took turns being a troll at the Meridian Village Gazebo. (The troll said that I couldn't pass unless I hit 3 imaginary baseballs - I love 3 year old imaginations). Then we stopped by Cindy's to see her kitty and chase the bees out of her yard with Cubby's Black and Decker power sander. I'm not really sure why you chase bees with a sander, but if I were a bee, I'd run.....

Herding Cats

Ever try to get a handful of 3 year olds to all do the same thing at the same time? Not the easiest task for sure. Cubby had his second soccer game on Saturday. They ran back and forth and practiced kicking but never actually got around to playing a game. Their opponent, the Green Team was on the other side of the field but it was picture day and there was more chaos than usual. Cubby had his own agenda and had more fun tackling one of his teammates - maybe he thought he was playing rugby?

It was quite the blustery morning but at least the rain had stopped by gametime. After the game we went to the playground at Post Oak (Eileen, we saw Costas and Thomas roaming the neighborhood) and then played hide-n-seek with Gennie. The little ball of energy finally took a 30 minute snooze around 6pm and then was up and ready for more! Gamma and Gennie crawled into bed early Saturday night.

Spring Nesting Season

I had a strange visitor to my backyard picnic table last week.  Perhaps migrating back from a warmer climate? Maybe Irene and Jan gave him a heads up on a good place to camp out for the summer. He's very trusting. Cubby thought we should help him build a nest and went around finding twigs and leaves in the yard while carefully avoiding the Gennie land mines. I wonder when the Mrs will arrive at her summer home?

We go on 'CATION?

This week was Spring Break at LCC.  It would have been fun to travel to some exotic, warm, tropical climate but alas that was not to be.  We did make an overnight excursion to Shipshewana, IN, where we spent the night at Splash Universe. Cubby had an absolute ball! The blue area in the front of the picture is the entrance to the toddler pool - 8" deep. Not for Cubby! He wanted to go down the yellow, blue and orange slides. Even the blue slide being a closed tunnel didn't phase him. Claire would go with him to the top, make sure the slide was clear and send him down. I'd be at the bottom and pull him out. Then we would wait for mom to come down. After awhile, he wanted mom and gamma gamma to change places. Yes, another one of those things you only do for your grandkids. Gamma gamma went down the slides too.

The next morning we spent another couple of hours at the pool and then on to Yoder's and Lolly's. I found some new Ricky Tim's fabric that I hadn't seen before and a $5.00 bag of really nice batik scraps. I kept telling myself to exercise restraint because Chicago was only a month away.

Friday was also my dad's birthday so we stopped in Kzoo for presents and Happy Birthday Quality Dairy doughnuts. Now it's back job hunting and homework but it was a good mini vacation

Sledding - Who me?

This morning Claire and Cubby came over to help me shovel and brave the winter snow. Yesterday, I waded through knee-deep snow to make sure that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle plastic sleds were still out in the shed. First we sledded down the hill in my front yard and then all (including Gennie) piled into the car to go to the BIG hill at Post Oak. We had a really great time.  I almost got Gennie to sit on my lap on the sled but I was worried that she would try to bail out half way down and we'd end up in a tumbled mess.  More pictures on Claire's Facebook page.

Yes, gamma gamma, I AM the king of the mountain. Hi Ya!

Snowy Sunday

Find one old infant play mat in the closet.

Add an afghan from the sofa to make a tent for a 3 year old.

After the 3 year old goes home, add one jealous old yellow lab (sorry the picture is not better, had to grab it when I could.)

Saw this canvas at World Market. On Bonnie's blog, she mentioned a trend toward lighter quilts. Maybe this has possibilities as a future project.

Classes officially started yesterday at LCC. Good thing I didn't wait until Monday to log in. My first online assignment is due by 11:59 pm tonight!  Here we go again!

Turkey Day

We had a very traditional Thanksgiving celebration this year. Just the family. I made turkey and all the trimmings (including cranberries in the shape of a can - kids' request). Mom made the gravy. Desserts abounded: pumpkin pie with whip cream from a can (another special request), pecan pie, apple pie, cheese cake and carrot cake. Who needs dinner?

Our special treat was that Cubby is now old enough to say the blessing... God is good, God is great..... It was cherubic and absolutely precious.

Ian and Liz (and mashed potatoes). They had driven in Thursday morning from Liz' parents in Midland. After dinner, Liz went to get some shut-eye so she could get up and make the Black Friday specials at Tangier Outlets with her mom and sis. Midnight at the outlet mall. Wonder how that went?

Gennie says she's getting too old for all of this commotion. She did get a little bowl of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Afterall, we're very thankful for the most wonderful dog in the world.

Note to self:  remember to recharge the camera battery before the next holiday.

Great Weekend

On Saturday morning we packed Mr. Energy in the car for a trip to the Apple Butter Festival at Fenner Arboretum. It was very cold but the sun was shining. Seems like it's been a long time since we've seen the sun. We saw Jackie B and Pam A (and another quilter that I didn't know) quilting on behalf of the CCQG. Cubby wasn't too interested in stirring the apple butter, I think the fire and smoke was too scary. But he loved the music and actually sat still for a song or two.

This is his "I'm at the top of the stairs and I'll be gone by the time you can get up here" smile. Gamma Gamma needed a nap by the end of the day...

On Sunday I drove to Kalamazoo to the Log Cabin Quilter's Show. Cyndee was too sick to go so I drove alone and made a side trip to see my parents. Saw Kari and Dan at the show too. Bought too much hand-dyed fabric from Windberry Studio but I couldn't resist.  The show has moved from the hotel to the fairgrounds. Easy access off of the highway but unfortunately not much improvement in the lighting which was my biggest complaint at the Raddison. Nice show. About 300 quilts. This quilt is by Billie Gunderson and uses Jane Sassaman fabric.

I have quite a stack of Jane fabrics that I have collected. Maybe it's about time...

Drive on!

Here's Cubby at the Ft Wayne Zoo.  I know, his hat says  Detroit Zoo but we were really in Indiana. He's becoming quite the zoo traveler. He's driving a jeep in the African safari exhibit. It's very cool.

I had planned to show the completed top for the baby quilt I'm working on.  I realized that I hadn't prewashed the border fabric so the top is not finished yet.  I don't always prewash my fabric, especially for wall hangings but on baby quilts that will be washed frequently, I think it's a good idea.

Sooooo, you'll have to wait a little longer.