And Another Year Ends

Well, I didn't get the Christmas quilt finished, but we did have a wonderful Christmas and that's what counts. And we had a white one!  

Notice all the tracks in the snow?  After Dan drove down to bring Mom and Dad up because of the wintery roads, he went out to plow the driveway.  Keaton jumped on the back and they went to work. . . 

. . . and after that, Cameron and Keaton had a riot driving all over the back yard and pulling each other on sleds. We are so glad to have so much room for them to play without having to worry about them out on the road.  It was so fun to watch them from the windows!

Following the outdoor fun, it was hot tub time.  It was so cold outside, we had our own little climate going on inside the sunroom which makes the picture looks a little foggy because it was foggy in there!!  

We usually have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve so that we can relax Christmas day without having to hurry to get dinner on.  We enjoyed ham and all the trimmings and were forced to eat dessert later when we had more room.  After an evening of visiting, we all took to our beds in anticipation of Christmas Day.

The stockings kept everyone amused until we were all up and presentable and amazingly, we even had breakfast before opening the presents!  (Obviously the big boys are truly getting older, and Daniel was too little to know what was about to happen.)   After eating, we all adjourned to the living room where Cameron and Keaton went to work distributing the presents.  As the littlest, Daniel got to open the first present with Cameron's help.

Cameron was next and opened a Swiss Army knife which seemed to be well received.  Papa Dan picked right on this gift!

Keaton got a new fleece blanket which Ann made.  She made blankets for the boys about six years ago and decided it was time for new ones.  You can see that it was the right decision! Keaton curled up right on the hearth with his.

Meanwhile, the grownups opened when their turns came. Here's Dan and Great Papa.

And Eric.  He loved Twinkies and when Ann tried to buy some for him, it was too late, so he got a box of Cloud Cakes and a Twinkie the Kid holder!  (Sorry the picture is so blurry--the photographer, me, needs to improve her skills in group settings.)

All my pictures of Ann are blurry as I only took some when she had Lil' D on her lap.  Here's the best one as D plays with the new phone Eric gave her.

Gigi enjoyed spending time with family and Dan got a photo of her with Daniel.

And one more picture.  Cameron and Keaton went together and gave Papa Dan a special present.

It was a tin filled with pennies--a five pound box of money!!  (They even weighed it to be certain!)  Too fun and Dan absolutely loved it.  (It's a phrase from an old song and when asked what he'd like for a gift, Dan often jokes and says that's what he'd like, so this time the boys obliged.)

As you can see, we had a truly lovely Christmas!  When the presents were opened, Cameron and Keaton took turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible and that made it perfect.  

And now it's New Year's Eve.  Another year is ending, but we are so thankful for this one filled with love and blessings.  

Merry Christmas!

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."   --  Luke 2:7-14

Catchin' Up

Yes, dear friends, we have carpet on the stairs!  And here's proof:

And notice, if you please, the trim on the windows!! Those ugly, long windows have been give a face-lift and I actually like them now!!  The final coats of paint are still needed, but isn't it amazing what wood trim does for a house?  (And yes, that's snow out the window.)  We also have plans for trim around the floor, but that's probably not happening before Christmas.  And a new railing.  

Hard Candy Christmas is coming along!  Just needs to be quilted and hopefully I'll be able to do that in the next few days.  Meanwhile, it's hanging out on my quilting machine waiting patiently.

Here's a little Christmas scene from our basement to brighten your day:

I hope to be back again before Christmas with a completed quilt, a picture of our Christmas tree (which has yet to make its arrival) and maybe some cookies.  In the meantime, remember, the real reason for this season is Jesus!  

Hooray!

In addition to the Christmas decorations in our entryway, we have a roll of carpet pad and toolboxes.

As I type, the carpet layers are hammering down the tack strips on the stairs in preparation for laying the carpet there and in the upper hallway!!  Hallelujah!!

Hard Candy Christmas

That's the name I've come up with for my Christmas quilt.  As I look at it on my design wall, it reminds me of the hard candy so prevalent when I was small--ribbon candy and round flat disks with a design in the middle. The colors all sort of swirled around and that's what they do in this quilt.  So far, anyway.

I have enjoyed using my new Accuquilt GO! to cut.  By layering and using both fabrics, one run through cuts all the pieces for each block.  I've used fat quarters of the Sentiments fabric and some scraps of older fabrics I had in my stash that blended.  Each block is different.  

Here's one in progress:

And here are two as I ponder the sashing:

Here's a view of four of the five rows before I began adding the sashing:

Don't they remind you of that swirly candy?  I have three rows complete with sashing now and hope to have the whole top joined tomorrow.  Then there'll be the border fabric to decide on.  This whole quilt has been decided upon one step at a time, even though I did create a prototype in the quilt program part of my Explorations software.  (I gave myself permission to change the plan at each point, but it's turned out looking pretty much like I originally planned.)

Busy, Busy

Oh my goodness, I've just realized how long it's been since I've posted.  I was thinking it was only a few days, but it's been nine or ten.  We've been busy.

The house is decorated for Christmas except for the Christmas tree.  (My honey, being a forester, is not the least bit interested in an artificial tree, so in order for it to be fresh for Christmas, he doesn't cut one until a week or so before.)  Since we have the new furniture in the living room, it's been trial and error to decide where to places things.  I think I have it for now, but next week, who knows?  :-)

Bruder Bear is here!  He arrived tonight and will be with us until Monday morning.  He and his son JR will hunt with Dan for the next few days and it's so fun to have him here.  Here's hoping they'll have some luck, but no matter what, I know they'll have a good time.  

I'm doing some stitching in my sewing room.  I bought myself a little pre-Christmas present.  It's an AccuQuilt GO! fabric cutter like the one I used to make the quilt for a shop sample last spring, and I'm using dies to make 8" star blocks with the 3 Sisters Sentiments fabrics.  Oh, and the runner I made last month for the coffee table using that fabric?  Well, I decided it looked better on the dining room table so I'm thinking this new quilt will reside on our bed as originally planned.  As I mentioned above, it's been trial and error this year in the decorating department. . .  

Stay tuned!  I'll be back in a day or two with picture of the in-progress Christmas quilt!

A Little This and That

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had a wonderful day down at my parents'.  We broke tradition and had ham instead of turkey and it was delicious.  Of course we had mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, and pumpkin and mince pies.  As usual, everyone complained about eating too much, but that's to be expected.  

On the Monday before Thanksgiving we enjoyed an overnight visit from grandson Keaton.  His school was out for the week but brother Cameron's was not, so Keaton was looking for a little "vacation" for a day or so. He and Papa Dan cleaned and filled the hot tub and Keaton enjoyed being the first one in this year.  (I suspect it wasn't quite as fun without a brother to splash around with, however.)  

In the evening I introduced him to a favorite site of mine, especially during the holidays.  Jigzone is an online jig saw puzzle site with many categories of puzzles, but my favorites are, of course, the Christmas ones.  You can change the cut and go from six pieces to one with about 276, so even if you've done a puzzle before, you can still be challenged by it.  Keaton loved it.  

Aebelskivers were requested for breakfast and this grammy was kept busy at the stove making strawberry jam filled yummies.  

By the time I was done it seemed as though a bomb had gone off (I seem to have dirtied every bowl and scraper in the kitchen, not to mention the liberal use of powdered sugar), but as Dan said, no one was hurt in the explosion.  :-)  We all ate until we were stuffed. Mmmmm....

Of course the trains came out and covered the living room floor.  Dan and Keaton were even able to diagnose and fix a problem with a special train I'd gotten for Dan years ago, and Keaton loved sending it chug-chugging down the track.  (It actually made that sound once we found a 9-volt battery to revive it's "voice".)  

Meanwhile, in the sewing room I came up with a little project to be used in this month's embroidery club that proved to be a hit.  We machine embroiders often have designs we love but just can't figure out what to do with. I was pondering this and all at once came up with an idea: stitch out a row of them, frame them with simple borders, and you have a perfect little accent for a wall or table.   I have a different one on display at the shop, but here's one I finished here at home.

This particular design is from an OESD pack called Holiday Luster.  Each design in the pack is one color, which makes it perfect for quick stitching.  

And last, in house news, we ordered the carpet for the stairs today!  They said there'd be no problem getting it done by Christmas!!  Yay!  

Dad's Quilt of Valor

I just received an email from the lady who made Dad's quilt and am pleased to share this picture.

The lady standing right beside Dad is Sallie Wilhelm, the one who pieced Dad's quilt, and the lady to the far left in the striped vest is the one who quilted it. On the right side, you can see some of the ladies in the hug line.  It's a lovely big quilt and also came with a matching pillowcase to be used as a storage case.  Those ladies do wonderful work!  

New Table Runner? Check!

Ohh, I can't tell you how much I love this new runner! The fabric is so gorgeous (Sentiments by 3 Sisters for Moda) and the pattern (Waffletime by Atkinson Designs) is perfect when you have a beautiful focus fabric you don't want to cut into small pieces.  

It's a perfect fit for the coffee table and I can hardly wait to have it there for Christmas.  I have more of the fabric and plan to make a throw quilt.  My first plan (before the table runner came on my radar) was to have the quilt as an accent for our bed for the holidays, but now I may want to use it in the living room.  Of course, it has be made first!  :-)

I have two embroidery clubs to teach today, so I'm off to get ready.  Happy Thursday, friends and family!  

Veteran's Day

I can't believe I forgot my camera (yes, I can--as my mom says, it's a family affliction), but I did.  Today Dan and I drove my parents to a Quilts of Valor presentation where Dad was one of twenty veterans to receive a special quilt.  Dad's is beautiful, all done in red, white and blue log cabin blocks surrounding a center panel with an eagle.  It's very fitting as he was a member of the 101st Airborne, known as the Screaming Eagles.  Dad's quilt was made by a lady who worked for him many years ago and he's always had a special place in her heart, so it was doubly special for both of them.  

The program was short and sweet, with emphasis on giving the quilts to the veterans.  They started with WWII veterans, and Dad was the first up.  They show the quilt and then there is a "Hug Line" composed of ladies who made the quilts.  I wasn't sure how Dad would react to this, but he headed down that line and gave each of those ladies a big hug and received one in return, and there were at least a dozen of them, probably closer to fifteen or sixteen.  It was fun to watch.  (I still can't believe I forgot my camera!!!)

When all the presentations had been made, and they included quilts for some veterans who have just returned home, there were refreshments and I'm here to tell you it was a cookie lover's (Dad!) dream.  It was at an American Legion hall, so I don't know if they were responsible or if the quilt ladies did it, but they did themselves proud.  

We took Mom and Dad home and spread his new quilt out on the sofa to admire it.  There's a huge machine embroidered label on the back (probably 8 1/2 by 11") with Dad's name, his dates of service, branch, etc., and the names of the ladies who pieced and quilted it.  As Mom said, it's a family heirloom.  

What a wonderful way to celebrate Veteran's Day.

Winter's Sending A Little Hint...

The view out my dining room window just a few minutes ago:

And I have to say, except for walking very carefully, I love it!  So beautiful.  Meanwhile, Dan just finished the trim around the entryway windows and is tearing off the old trim around the door in preparation for putting up matching trim.  New door will come later, but for now, the entryway is getting ready for the holidays!  I need to see about carpet for the stairs this week.  Note to self:  Do it!!

Accomplished!

I got the binding attached to my fall quilt yesterday, and last night I sat on the sofa beside my bee-u-ti-ful and oh-so-handy new end table and hand stitched it to the back.  It's done!

It brightens the corner and now I need to make some type of wall quilt to match.  Hmmm, do I have time before Thanksgiving?  I usually watch little Daniel on Wednesday afternoons but Ann just called to say I got the day off, so I may just head downstairs and hope for an instant idea.  (Miracles do happen!)

Here's the whole quilt:

Hooray for a finish!  :-)

Fall Quilt

Yes, people, progress has been made on the fall quilt.  If you'll remember (or even if you don't), I bought fat quarters of Sandy Gervais' new fall line when we were in McCall in August.  I used them to make a small Yellow Brick Road quilt and then realized I needed more fabric for the borders.  I was able to order what I needed online and got one border on and half the second.  Then life intervened and my quilt languished in my sewing room for a number of weeks.  

I finally forced myself to go down and finish that last border two weeks ago.  At that time, I was faced with a revelation:  I love to make the blocks for a quilt, but for some reason, freeze up when it comes to borders.  I think it's because the pieces are long and awkward and I have a fear of ruffled edges; I don't want them, and I (stupidly) allow it to stress me out while I'm stitching.  So I said to myself, "Self, get over it!  What's the big deal? It's a quilt!"  And I sat down and stitched.  :-)

Next up, I realized I had no pieces of fabric in my stash big enough to work for a back, at least a back that kind of matched the front.  Back to my computer.  At this point, I'd like to do a little pitch for shopping locally.  I love our little quilt shop, but there's no way it can possible stock all the quilt fabrics that are out there.  I shop at home first, and then (and only then) online.  I've had very good luck with the Fat Quarter Shop which is in Texas.  They are very nice to work with and the packages arrive quickly.  The fabric is sealed in a ziplock bag which keeps it nice and dry, even on very rainy days like the one when it arrived at our house.  The outside of the package had gotten wet somewhere along the line, but the fabric was safe.

I also decided to do a little experimenting with my thread and purchased a variegated King Tut thread called, appropriately, Autumn.  

Yesterday I loaded the quilt on my machine.

I'm happy to report I finished it last night!  Up next, the binding.  Hopefully I'll be back with my completed fall quilt in a couple of days. 

House Meanderings

My long-time friend Kathy commented that my blog muse seemed to be missing lately.  That's because it's hard to write exciting or interesting things about cleaning bathroom sinks, dusting, or vacuuming.  Erma Bombeck I'm not.  My poor house was in terrible need of some cleaning following all the dust of harvest and wildfires. There was no use in cleaning during those weeks because half a day later, no one could tell.  And we all know how much I hate dusting, etc.  

Fall has come, however, with rain and wind and cold. Time to find the tops of my new furniture.  So, I dusted, I vacuumed, and I scoured.  Meanwhile, I fiddled with the bare tops of our new furniture.  What to place on all the new space?  I've never been much of a gee-gaw collector, possibly because I've never have places to put them. Now, however, those bare tops have been calling for some.  For something.  For anything!  So, many mornings I have wandered around in my nice red fleece robe (it finally being cool enough to wear it), looking in cupboards and drawers, trying to find things we already have that will fill in the gaps.  I've been somewhat successful.  I think I may have to go shopping, though, after Christmas.  (About Christmas I have no fears about bare spaces; at last I'll have enough space for all my treasures.)

And oh yes, I know a number of posts ago I mentioned that the last piece of our furniture was in place, but it turned out that wasn't so.  We decided we needed one more large end table between the sofa and Dan's recliner. We had to order it, and it came this week.  There's no more room, so it's definitely the last piece.  

Its arrival necessitated another morning of looking for "things".  I found a little basket which now houses coasters, a little stoneware cat I paid way too much for years ago and therefore couldn't get rid of, and a corner for Dan's iPad.  The lamp turned out to be kind of funny. We have another green one on the other end table. When the older boys were little, it got knocked over many times, so I bought another lamp just so I could have a spare.  Turns out, it's not quite the same lamp! The shape is different, but I think it's close enough and I'm probably the only one who would notice.  And if others do, kudos to them!

Here's an updated view of the sofa table, which of course isn't near the sofa.  :-)

I love those little tiny pumpkins you can find at the grocery store this time of year.  Our usual store didn't have them, however, and I actually had to go on a search.  Safeway did not fail, I'm happy to say.

That little guy is just the perfect accent for October and November.  And here's a closeup of the left side of the table:

Dan's dad worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad as a conductor.  The watch was his, along with the chain and the attached knife.  The book is entitled Graded Lessons in English with an 1885 copyright and comes from my Dad's side of the family.  

So, that's the thrilling news of the week from here at the resort.  Stay tuned, as I will have an update on the fall quilt shortly!  Really!

And...It's Snowing!!

Last week it was still almost summer-like, and today, it's snowing!  First it was rain, then rain with spots, and now, just plain ol' snow.  It's even showing up in the grass a little.

And we all know that I'm excited!  :-)

Trailer and Boat Update

My faithful readers know that my nephew, JR, Bruder Bear's son, took Dad's Christmas trailer to its new home on Thursday afternoon.  That night Dad called to see if Dan could come help them get the boat out of the shop and onto the trailer Friday morning.  Dan was happy to be of help and witness and record the exciting event.  It turned out to be fairly easy to get the boat out of the shop as Dad had built a huge dolly for it to rest on.  Once out of the shop (out of sight on the far left) and into the garage, they were able to start loading it on the trailer.

Dad cranking it on:

Almost there!

And it's on!  Checking the load:

JR backing it into its new home:

And it's there!

The shelter used to house Mom and Dad's camper before they sold it earlier this year.  Now to make plans for a windshield, steering and motor.  

And, of course, now Dad has room to sort out his shop.  

The Wheels on the Car Went 'Round and 'Round

Yes, they did.  The wheels on our Explorer went 'round and 'round over the last two weeks.  First we took my mom to Seattle for an appointment with her eye specialist.  The day after we got home, we left to visit Bruder Bear in south Idaho,  The day after we got home from that trip, we drove my dad to Spokane for an appointment with his heart specialist.  I think I can still hear the rumble of the road.  

Mom's appointment didn't go as well as we'd hoped, but Dad's turned out great.  They speeded up his pacemaker a little so he'd have more energy, said he was amazing, and told him he didn't have to come back for a year. Yay!!

We had a great time at Bruder Bear's.  Karen and I again stripped wallpaper, which of course had another whole layer of wallpaper and borders underneath. Shades of the border we removed from her kitchen soffits last year. We're getting to be pro's at stripping multiple layers. We didn't get it all removed, but at least we got a good start on it.  

Dan and John worked on a special project:  tuning up a boat trailer for Dad.  Well over fifty years ago, my Dad started building a boat.  He'd work on it now and then and finally fiber-glassed it ten or so years ago.  It's been sitting in his shop ever since.  Since Dad is now eight-nine, John came to the conclusion that if that boat was ever going to enter the water, something had to be done. He found wonderful used trailer and called to see if we'd like to go halfies with him on a Christmas present for Dad. Of course we would!  The guys did some rewiring and had the wheel bearings repacked.  They were even able to license it in Dad's name.  We towed it back up this week on Monday.

Tuesday morning Mom and Dad drove up so we could drive them the rest of the way to Spokane.  We had an elaborate plan of revealing that the trailer in our driveway was Dad's, but it was a terrible, stormy day.  The less time we were out in the elements the better.  Dan decided to tie a red bow on it, so he ran out and did it--just in time as they arrived a minute or so later.

When Dad pulled into the driveway, he had a grin on his face.  Through the rolled down window, Dan told him a man in a red suit had dropped the trailer off and said that it was Dad's Christmas present.  Then we told him it was his present from John and Karen and us.  

He's looking pretty happy!!

When we got back from Spokane I said I had to get a picture of him next to the trailer before he left since the weather was much more cooperative.

  

Our nephew JR is heading down to Mom and Dad's as I type, towing the trailer to its new home.  He was planning to spend the weekend with them and do a little hunting, so it worked out perfectly for him to take it. I'll bet there'll be a lot more grinning going on in a little bit.  

Last Piece in Place

We decided on the last end table and while I was working at the shop on Saturday, Dan picked it up and brought it home.  I keep wondering whose house I'm in!  :-)

I need to make a new little topper as the old one is much too small for this table.  Soon.  Meanwhile, I just finished a little project for the shop and need to get back to my fall quilt.  

It's an absolutely beautiful day with a steady breeze.  The wind chimes Matt made us are singing and sound so good with the slider wide open.  Have I mentioned I love fall?  :-)

Fun Day!

When I got up this morning, I wandered into the living room and asked Dan if he'd like to go out for breakfast, just have a play day, and he said, "Let's."

We drove downtown and went to our favorite breakfast place where we proceeded to stuff our faces eat a couple of very tasty plates of food.  (Yum to omelets and hash browns!)  The fun thing about eating breakfast out is we can each order what we want. Actually, I guess that's true for any meal you eat out, but it seems like more fun when it's breakfast.  We could each only eat half, so we have containers in the frig that we're saving for Sunday morning when we'll enjoy having a ready-made breakfast as we get ready for church.  :-)

When we finished eating, Dan said, "Now what?"  I mentioned a walk and he said maybe we should go to a furniture store to look for a new recliner for the living room.  One arm of his recliner had somehow gotten ruined, we know not how, and was very dark, almost black.  It looked bad.  At the furniture store, we perused the La-Z-Boys but nothing jumped out at us, so we took some fabric samples home and thought we'd see if we could find something to work and just order one.  On our way out the door, Dan spotted an end table he liked.

We came home, gave a thumbs down to all the fabric and looked glumly at our chair.  Inspiration struck and I asked if we could try the Resolve carpet cleaner on it and see what happened.  The chair was already on it's way out, so there was nothing to lose.  We gave it repeated applications, and lo and behold, it worked!  We still have no idea how the arm was blackened, but it now matches the other one and the chair looks perfect!  

We took the fabric samples back, found the end tables Dan had seen, and spotted several other matching pieces.  Here is where I confess that after almost forty-one years of marriage, we've never had real end tables. Our itty bitty trailer had no space for any, and in our next three homes we used the giant speakers Dan had purchased when he was in the Navy.  When we moved to this house, we stuck the speakers in the basement and used some old night stands for end tables.  That is, until today!!

As you can see, we didn't stop at end tables.  I love, love, love that sofa table by the rocking chair!  And I thought the coffee table would be too large, but it's perfect!  We need one more end table, but we're pondering that decision and have several choices.  I'm so excited!!!

And it all started with breakfast out.  :-)  (I should probably mentioned that we ate lunch and dinner out, too. I told you it was a fun day!)