Have Blog Will Forget to Post

O. M. G. I just remembered that I have a blog and logged on to see it. I read my posts and, frankly, I enjoyed reading them. Why don't I write more?!?! I for one was highly entertained by reading what I wrote. Just call me a one-person cheering squad. The last post was back in 2011. It is now 2015. What the heck have I been doing?

Quick fly by:

1. 2014 Ashley's wedding, Dan's foot amputation, my right knee total knee replacement
2. 2013 Can't think of a thing
3. 2012 Also can't think of a thing

So, it is January 18, 2015, and I have been recovering from my knee replacement which was on December 16, 2014. Nearly four weeks and I still have pain. Oy. Was hoping to be feeling better by now. The good thing is that I am on disability and not working. I expect to return to work in mid-March.

Actually, I have been off on family medical leave since November 12, 2014. Dan has his foot amputated (I can hardly type that word, but it is now the basis of our life) on October 29, 2014. I have been taking care of him along with my number one daughter since then. It has been a lot of work. Everyone stop right now and thank God for two feet. That's all I'm going to say. Life is certainly different now. He is healing now and should have a prosthetic foot in March or April this year.

The take-away? During 2012 and 2013 (the years I blanked out on as noted above) was a constant struggle with my work problems. I cried, despaired, ranted, raved, and bought "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. I began reading her daily devotions and learned to see and trust God in ways I never had thought about in my 38 years of following Jesus. I learned to hold God's hand daily and look up rather than at my work problems which seemed insurmountable. This exercise brought me to a safer, stronger, tighter relationship with God. So, when Dan fractured his ankle, endured months of recuperation and two surgeries only to have to have his foot amputated, I was ready. I was firmly ensconced with God and was able to navigate the new turbulent waters with less gnashing of the teeth than would have occurred. Get Sarah's book and change your life. Seriously.

The trials and tribulations of quilting . . .

OK do you want the good news or the bad news first?  Good news?  (That's what I usually go for as well.)  I completely finished TWO quilts today. 

One is a hydrangea quilt that I began probably six years ago.  Mom and Sue were visiting, we went quilt store visiting, saw this gorgeous quilt hanging up and promptly bought two kits.  One for Mom and one for me.  Sue began teaching me what to do and how to do it.  At one point she was on the floor laying it out and I remember thinking that with my knees that would never work for me, which is ironic as I spent most of yesterday with my knee up and covered with a heating pad.  I was cutting things out, she was arranging, I was sewing.  It was a memorable day.  I think we manged to finish both quilt tops.  She promptly went home to Texas and finished Mom's and I have admired it over the years at Mom's house.  Then I would think, "hmmmm, I have this SAME THING that I love at my house - why don't I stinkin' finish it?!?"  It was something to do with the backing.  I am sort of a purist and usually want one of the fabrics featured on the front of the quilt to be the back as well.  Due to my procrastination, this went undone for a couple of years, then I was frantically trying to order more fabric to match and couldn't get what I needed, etc. etc.  Thus, I had to piece the back and didn't want to and, well, it just sat.

So, this year my New Year's Resolution was to finish my unfinished quilt projects.  I had a goal to finish one per month and felt that was workable.  Well, then I began to buy more fabric and make other patterns (it's all Joyce's fault, she was teaching classes!).  So, finally I decided to suck it up and finish it and today it happened.  It is in the wash as I write this.  I can't wait to see it when it comes out of the dryer all comfy and lovely.

The other one is a "Trip Around the World" from a class that Joyce taught.  I was pulling fabrics for it and not sure what I wanted and it ended up looking like a baby quilt.  A twin-sized baby quilt.  So, it is done and I am mailing it to Marti who has a new granddaughter named Quinn Rain.  Marti only had one son, so she was very overdue to buy pink stuff and I am so happy for her.  So, as I finished it, I pictured Marti curled up with Quinn at her beautiful home in Spokane reading a book to Quinn and her grandson, Robbie.

And, the bad news?  I am making a very detailed Christmas quilt and just realized today that I have used the wrong fabric for the background of the ornaments and presents that I have painstakingly made and they won't match when I assemble the blocks.  Sigh.

Confessions . . .

I can't find stuff. I have a habit of buying things for Christmas stockings and hiding them and forgetting them.  Then, come about May, I come across them and wonder why I never remembered putting them there.  And, sometimes, why I ever thought that particular item would have been a good stocking stuffer - but that's a different blog probably.  I am looking for fabric.  I think I bought it, I see the computer print out of buying it, but did I ever receive it?  Where did I put it.  Why can't I find it now that I NEED it!?!?  Story of my life.  Dan is a very good finder.  When I can't find something, such as quite recently, the cute little corn-on-the cob dishes that you put a pat of butter in and twirl the corn in them to get all the yummy butteryness all over the corn.  Dan will come into the kitchen, look in the cupboard and unearth it.  He says he just "finds" it, but I KNOW it had to be UNEARTHED because I COULDN'T find it!  Anyway, now I am missing fabric.The problem is that in order for him to find it, he would have to look through the cupboards in my office and then all he could talk about it why do I have so MUCH STUFF?!?  I.e, FABRIC.  So, to get around this little problem, I decided to clean up the office/sewing room.  I have been moving stuff, dusting stuff, tripping over stuff, and no fabric.  Oh, I've found fabrics that I never remembered, but not the ones that match the quilt that I need the borders for.  Oh, the problems I have.  Drat and rats!

Quilts, quilts and more quilts

Yesterday quilting friend Joyce picked me up and off we went to Fallbrook.  They have a really lovely quilt store there and we hoped to find fabric for me to use in the class Joyce is teaching on September 23rd.  She is so patient!  Her mind was racing to see all the fabrics, but she was devoted to helping me.  That is a great friend.  Here is how patient she was . . . I choose one focus fabric and was finding all the other six fabrics and it took some time, then scrapped it all when I found another focus fabric that seemed more me.  We began pulling fabric for that one, when she found a panel that matched the focus fabric.  And, that's when it hit me.  I think I already bought this fabric line for a Christmas quilt.  (You know you like it when you buy it twice!)  So I scrapped that and decided to wait.  Frankly, I was overloaded by looking at fabric.  But, when Joyce looks at fabric, it is a whole other situation.  She sees one fabric and finds four others to go with it, sees it in her head, and start stacking up the bolts.  It is a pleasure to watch.  Really.  I appreciate her gift and love to watch it.  She found several black fabrics with silver designs in houses with hearts (our fav) and had to buy it.  I can't wait to see what she makes from it all.  And, of course, there was Mary Engelbreit fabric and she loves, loves, loves her fabric.  I do, too, but on a lesser degree - probably only love, love.  So cute, so Joyce, so fun.

Then, we went to lunch at Rio Rico's except that it is now a restaurant called "Z" and very nice indeed.  Totally great food, decor, and lots of people.  That's the sign of a good restaurant.  They have breakfast until 2 p.m. so the Breakfast Buddies (Bubba and Barnacle Butt) will have to go and rate their coffee and hash browns.  But, that's another blog.  And, frankly they are better at eating breakfast than updating the blog.  (I know I should talk.)

Anyway, then we came back to my house and pulled a fabric line that I had bought online (blue and white, natch) and decided it would work for her class.  So, I got away with only buying one yard of fabric in Fallbrook.  It was a french blue polka dot that I couldn't pass up.  Probably the perfect color of blue.  Seriously.

It was a good day.

Sick . . . and the good part!

I am home sick today.  It started yesterday, Sunday, when I just felt like a noodle.  I cancelled plans to meet my besties for lunch and quilt fabric shopping, but still needed to grocery shop for the week.  Dan and I forged out to run the errands and by the time we were done . . . I was done.  I flopped into bed and slept a couple of hours. He made dinner (such a great husband) and I continued in my noodle-like state the rest of the night.  Woke up this morning at 4 a.m., spent some time on the couch in the man cave (hey, Dan was sleeping and that sofa is SO comfy and he has that HUGE TV - I'm just sayin'), got up, showered and realized that the noodle-ness was still with me.  What is that?!? So slept most of the day, managed to fall out of bed reaching for the phone when the phone rang - hurting my left arm (they say most accidents happen at home) and nearly breaking the lamp.  Wonder how things went at work? I sure hope I feel better tomorrow.  I don't even feel well enough to sew a bit.  Now, you know I'm sick when sewing sounds horrible. 

And the good part?  Ashley is home from college for the summer!

Mother's Day

I have been a mother for 25 years and, boy, has it gone FAST.  I still vividly remember both my babies as I cuddled and loved them.  They were so cute and small and cuddly and they loved me so much.  I loved to rock them and dress them and feed them and revel in their lovely babiness.  This is why I am ready to be a grandmother.  I don't have anyone small to rock and dress.  And, there's no baby reveling. But, let's not forget that I still have the cuddles, the love, the feeding (!), and the cuteness.  It is just with bigger girls.  Their hearts are bigger, their laughs are louder, and (best of all) their love comes in delicious, comforting waves over the miles in emails and calls.

This is when they are the cutest.  See those smiles? I love my girls.

Late Sunday Night

Ok, so we got an extra hour last night and I am still trying to decide if it is 11 p.m. or 10 p.m.  Why this matters, I really don't know except that maybe I'd go to bed already.  I am sleepy, but have been wasting time watching TV (Prince William and Kate) and playing with my iPhone and losing at Scrabble to sister Kathy.  Man she is one tough Scrabble player.  But, I am getting a bit better.  It is fun to know that she is playing right along side me even though she is in FL and I am in CA.

Was back with the 4th graders today in Sunday School and it was fun.  Although, there was a fake lizzard on the counter where I, the greeter lady, have to stand.  Ugh.  I put a hat over it and hoped no one would notice.  Jesus loves the little children, but surely not the lizzards.  Yeah, I know . . . they eat bugs.  But that's what I have Orkin for!  (smile)

Make it a good week!

Hmmmmm Quiet

I am never alone.  I used to say that I spent my lunch hour in my car, or "a la vehicle" as my co-worker Ashton would say, because that was the only hour of the day that I was alone.  So today I am home alone.  It feels wonderful and strange and comforting all at the same time.  "Bubba" is having breakfast this morning with "Barnacle Butt" and I am leisurely reading the paper and eating peach yogurt with Target blueberry granola.  Did I mention that it was quiet? Then, my phone alarm went off for some reason.  I raced to get it (not sure why that is), literally jumped over Lucy who had taken up her guard position in the hallway, and frantically searched my mind for what I set the alarm for and if I was late for something.  Can't think of a thing, so must be "user error." There's a lot that can be filed under that category these days.  Then, I noticed that I was still logged into the computer because I was reading the Pioneer Woman blog and had gotten up to catch the newspaper from Bubba as he retrieved it and drove off to breakfast.  I love P Dub (as she refers to herself in one of her oh so entertaining entries) and can't wait for her book to come out about how she met Pioneer Man.  So, P Dub inspired me to blog and my yogurt is still on the dining room table.  My mind is a sieve.

The Hills . . . well at our house anyway

This is what our front hill looked like in spring.  I wanted lots of colors and got them, but there is still too much dirt showing.  It's a good start though.

The Nest is Becoming Empty Again . . .

So, my Ashley is moving back to school again.  My heart isn't as sad as it was years back when my first little bird flew the coop.  But, I am feeling the pangs again.  I distinctly remember telling "little A" as we fondly call her, when she moved home in June that I didn't want to "bond" with her again because I knew she'd be leaving me.  I told her that she was "just a big leaver!" Some mom, huh? But, ya know something? I was right! She is leaving again. She and Chris took up the first load on Thursday and she is packing more stuff and making plans and making sorority boards for Rush for Sigma Kappa and, well, she's been busy. I am just very glad that I have Skype now and can see my kids while we talk.  This is a big help and I am looking forward to seeing her cute little face on the computer screen next week.  I just have to be careful what I am wearing when the "computer" rings.  It is a little tricky when you get calls on "naked Thursdays."

Labor Day Weekend

Well, it's the last weekend of the summer - wait, did we ever have summer? Well, yes, I think there were a couple of warm days, ate the requisite watermelons, watched the sun go down over the ocean, we had one beach party, and spent one evening with friends in their backyard by their fire pit.  Hmmm, guess that was summer. I'm not complaining though, believe me. I loved that it wasn't hot, hot, hot as usual.  But, it does make one wonder if come Christmas it will be 90 degrees in the shade.

We have been running errands, went to church last night, BBQd, hit the Macy's sale, found frames for the pictures of Lucy from Oh My Dog photos. I am actually typing this blog on Carrie's new laptop sitting in Dan's room in the recliner with my feet up.  Sweet!

It's Quiet!

OK, Ashley isn't that noisy, but it sure is quiet this weekend with her away!  Last night Dan and I went to this great restaurant that a friend, Susan Callahan, introduced me to this week.  Thanks, Sue!  It was good that she mentioned there is a man there who gives hugs because I would have freaked out as he came toward me. He hugs everyone - even a crusty, scary looking motorcycle guy seated at the bar. There was a wedding rehearsal dinner going on, families munching on pizza, and all in all it is a great experience.  It is an Italian restaurant called Capazolli's.  Yummy.

Today I got to sleep in, had a pedicure and went to church.  They began a new summer series on the book of Ruth and it was very good.  Pastor Chris referred to it as a "summer chick flick" and lamented that no one gets blown up or fights, but he was drawn into the story of Ruth, Naomi and Orpah.  Did you know that Oprah was to be named Orpah from the Bible, but her mother misspelled it on the birth certificate?  Just some trivia to bring you up-to-date.

Now, got to figure out who will go see Eat Pray Love with me tomorrow.  Dan said he's had enough of a summer check flick already this weekend.  Maybe I'll take a page out of Carrie's book and go by myself!  Probably just women there anyway . . .

Down She Goes

So, on Thursday I was walking to walk from my car and somehow managed to fall flat on my face.  My arm suffered the most damage, but is in its sling and healing.  Nothing was broken, so am sure glad about that.  It was my right arm, too, which is so inconvenient.  However, that said, it could be a form of a diet to eat with the wrong hand.  Working on that now. I hope to go to work tomorrow, but Dan will drive me and I don't think I'll be doing much computer work.  I'll manage by walking around this week.  Well, I will plan to walk and hope that I don't find myself on my face again any time soon. 

Missin' TX, Ya'll

So I am missing all the fun we had in Texas . . . anyone else feeling the same?  Such a sense of community, family, never being alone, little Miss Ainsley Fluff, laugher, discussion, sharing, revealing, learning, and all in all reveling in being part of a big family that doesn't see each other often.  Perhaps that is why we always have such fun - we don't spend too much time with each other?  I am amazed that I didn't buy any quilt fabric, but was making a real effort not to do so.  I have to finish my projects that I have already purchased.  But, that said, has anyone noticed that all the new Christmas fabric is out now?  Oh, how I love Christmas in July!  Does Ashley have the Christmas countdown on her iPhone for 2010 yet?!?  I bet she does.  Love to all!

What's New?

So, bet you noticed that my blog has had a  makeover.  Too much?  It's like, WOW!  I've probably been watching too many David Tutera shows - am sort of hooked on that of late.  He is an event planner and apparently has a very large budget because his wedding receptions are amazing. For one he used something like 14,000 roses and all I could think of was that there are people in Haiti who need food.


Ashley is moving home today for the summer.  The empty nest will have a little birdie back in it, but a birdie that has soared with eagles and will not cotton to having helicopter parents again.  Note to self: no helicopter rides.  It will be nice to have her home again!  Our gain is Carrie's loss - no roommate for three months!


Dan's red sofa delivered and he loves it.  With the blue carpet, it is quite red, white, blueish and so very him.  I need to redo the bookcases now as they are quite junky.  The red items on the shelves are really popping with the red couch.   Who knew?!?


We put about 50 more plants into the front hill to fill up the holes from last year's plantings.  It really is pretty.  The gardener (you didn't think WE planted all those plants, did you?) liked it so much that he asked if he could take pictures.  Good sign!  They scraped down the side hill and we are thinking of how we will plant that one now.

Well, someone has to go to the grocery store, so guess I better get moving.  Hmmmmmm, what to make for dinner tonight?!?

Poem Inspired by Carrie's Blog

Sometimes the weekends aren't long enough
and summer comes too fast.
Old friends forget to call
and memories don't last

But, life is worth living
Fall will soon draw nigh
Christmas season will be upon us
and angels' singing we will "hear from high"

Yesterday I loved a fall-themed painting
in the mall by a store called Coach
And remembered my mother buying one
of beautiful runnuculas totally beyond reproach

Don't you just love the new poetry
It doesn't seem to rhyme
But gives way to pictures in its time

But, enough trying to be poetic,
because my desk is a mess!
I'll spend a few minutes to do a pile or two,
then back to enjoying my Sundays too few!

Memorial Weekend

There is nothing quite satisfying as the Friday night of a three-day holiday weekend. We took Ashley and Chris to dinner at Pizza Nova, which started things off quite nicely even though my salmon arrived with cold veggies. They made me a new plate and didn't charge me, so that was some good customer service. And, I know customer service!!! The next three days loom ahead with pedicures, movies, church, BBQing, shopping and I don't know what all. And, I spent some time sending about 20 sample of new books to my Kindle today, too. Oh, the possibilites!

Safe or Crazy?

Well, it depends if you are Dan or Jan. One of us has ordered an eight-man tent and a kit with supplies (food, crank-up radio, water filtration thingy, first aid supplies), plus two more sleeping bags for our earthquake preparedness supplies. And, the other of us thinks he is going to check into the nearest hotel when the big shake occurs. Oops, I gave it away! Ha, bet you already knew who was busily gathering supplies for the big shake. Maybe it's because I am a mom and if the kids are home, they'll be looking at me to see where they'll be sleeping. Maybe it's because I dread the thought of having to spend the night in the backyard in the cold/wet/who knows. Or, maybe I just sleep better knowing that I have at least made an effort to be prepared. The email string went like this: I sent Dan the link to a tent on sale at Costco. He wrote back, "no thank you, I'll be staying at a hotel." I wrote back, "I'll let you share it with me after the big one hits." He conceded. I bet it's because he knows he can't take Lucy to the hotel!!! And, I'll be the first one to find a hotel because Holiday Inn is the nearest I get to camping. But, you just never know . . .

March Madness

It is nearly spring - have you heard the birds singing of late? That is always the first sign and I hear them early in the morning as I get ready for my shower. We've had lots of rain, which makes for very green hills, flowering plants and wild flowers. I am not ready to have winter over, but then I never am. I do love the spring with Easter and spring breaks and pretty colors in the shops. I was at Joanne's this evening and really enjoyed seeing all their Easter items. I, wisely, did not buy any of them. I got thread, rotary blades on 40% off (yay), pre-made piping, and a nifty cutting board that you can flip over and use as an ironing board. Now, if I could just find time to sew. Maybe this weekend? Our Growth Group ladies are meeting for lunch on Saturday and I'm helping in the 4th grade on Sunday. But, hopefully, I can get some sewing in, too. Spring is coming . . . March 20!!!

The Merits of Bronchitus

1. More sleep
2. Cough medicine with codeine
3. Lucy curled up at my feet
4. Blogging
5. Lounging around in jammies
6. No makeup
7. Reading
8. Playing backgammon on the iPhone
9. Hawaiian punch
10. Catching up on recorded TV shows

I hope I can work tomorrow because this stuff gets old after a while!