Happy May Day!!

It's finally beginning to look like spring around here! The trees have been valiantly trying to leaf out and from a distance, we can actually see hints of green when we look at them.  This Mary Engelbreit drawing gives a glimpse of how I'm feeling about all this!!

And it's May Day.  I remember as kids we would make May baskets in school each year and then take them home to fill with flowers to leave on someone's doorknob.  I don't think anyone does it anymore, and it's kind of sad.  But then, if I even wanted to try it this year, nothing is blooming yet in our yard, and it sort of negates to whole thing if you have to buy the flowers. Just not the same as lilacs or tulips or daffodils picked at the last moment before delivery.  Ah well.  

Happy spring!  And happy May Day! ♥

Hey, I'm Back!

I've been a terrible blogger this month, but as I said in my last post, when not much is going on, there's not much to write about.  Still true!

We did have a lovely Easter, or as our pastor prefers to call it, Resurrection Day last week.  For only the second time, our church had a sunrise service and it was scheduled for 5:45.  For those of you who know me well, you know I don't think there's time before eight now that I'm retired, so this was truly an endurance test for me.  I passed!!

Ann and I decided that with such an early start, we needed to restructure our usual plans.  We decided on a brunch after the service followed by a call to Cam, then a long nap, then dinner.  I'm pleased to say that our plan was very successful.  

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing Cam's voice and by putting him on speaker on Eric's phone, we were all able to hear him and respond.  Amazing tools we have now! Such a blessing.

Here's a couple of photos after naps were had by all but Daniel.  Oh to have the energy of an eight-year-old!!  

Ann was headed to the deck to read to Daniel when I told her the furniture wasn't out yet.  She said her guys could fix that and before we knew it,  all was in place! Score for Papa!!

And above is a photo of our crazy movers soaking up a little warmth after they've expended all their energy on their work.  Yes, it was another laid-back holiday here at the resort, enjoyed by all.  ♥

Blah, Blah, Blah...

Those words describe the weather and this blog post. Outside it's grey and damp.  Inside it's the same ol', same ol'.  Not even anything worthy of a photograph.  So, in few words, here's what's been happening the last few weeks:

l) I got the Snowy Day quilt top finished.  I need to find a backing for it and get it loaded on my long arm, hopefully soon.

2) I am trudging away on my treadmill.  I've logged 55 miles, half an hour at a time, and I think I can see a difference in my shape.  

3) As I trudge away, I'm watching movies through Amazon Prime on my new iPad, purchased for just this purpose. I'm thoroughly enjoying each one. Just finished Fiddler on the Roof  and am now watching Charade. Love, love, love Audrey Hepburn's clothes in it!

4) I am loving my bread machine more and more! That I can make a wonderful salt-free loaf has revolutionized my life.  Guilt-free toast and sandwiches!!

5) We had a ladies' retreat at church two weeks ago and I discovered a fabulous new salad dressing during our Saturday lunch salad bar.  Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette.  Oh my! Mixed greens, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and a little feta?  Heaven!

6) Cameron continues to settle in in Rwanda.  He's done some exploring and found a bakery to have a coffee and a chocolate coated donut.  Some little tastes of home that did wonders for his morale. (Most of their meals are rice, beans and cooked bananas.)

And that about covers my life for now!  ♥

Pokey, Pokey, Pokey

Yes, that word pokey does describe me.  I've just been poking along here.  Seems like March is endless and my energy level is at a low.  The beautiful snow is all gone and while we had some days of sunshine, they've been replaced by gloomy, damp days.  I have to kick myself to keep moving.  A cold/allergies kept me down for a few days, but I seem to have whupped the baddies in pretty short order for which I'm thankful.

So, what's been happening over the last two weeks?  A couple of fun evenings with the D-Man. When we first became grandparents, Dan had the idea to make giant-sized Lincoln logs and made a beautiful set.  Daniel asked about them when he was here and so Dan got them out and they set about to build a cabin.  Daniel is eight now, and like his brothers, is no small person, but he had a riot crawling in and out all night.  

I've been poking away at the Snowy Day quilt and am finally to the point of putting on the borders.  I really like how it's turning out, especially since I've "made do" with what I could find in my stash.  I did have to buy a quarter yard of dark brown to use as sashing between the rows of houses, but that's been it.  

I still have to do the top and bottom borders, but that won't take long.  I'm glad I tried something different! ♥

And . . . It's Still Winter!

Yes, indeedy, it's still all white and cold out there.  And it's even officially Spring Break at all the area schools!  I notice many people have headed for warmer climes for the week.  Our neighbor, sporting a deep suntan, brought over a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts yesterday to thank Dan for plowing their driveway numerous times while they vacationed in sunny Hawaii. I'm proud to say I wasn't even jealous!  Oh, and did I mention that it's snowed all day?  Yup, still coming down.  

Dan and I spent several days in Coeur d'Alene last week while he attended meetings and I lounged in luxury in our room overlooking the lake at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.  Several people asked me if I planned to shop and the answer was, "No."  I went to relax and read and snooze, and I did all three.  It was a great time!  We did it last year for the same meetings, and plan to do it again next year.  Yay!!

Cameron is settling into his new life is Rwanda.  It was a huge culture shock and it turns out that while they usually have some trainees from Europe and America, this time he is the only one.  All the rest come from various countries in Africa and though they all speak a little English, most don't speak it well.  It's a nine-hour time difference from here (it was ten before daylight savings time), so connecting takes some work.  So thankful for email and smart phones!

Cam and the other trainees

And speaking of daylight savings time, let me just say that I HATE it!  Please, can we not just pick one time and stick with it?  As far as I can tell, no one is a fan of this continual change.  I read a good op ed while in Coeur d'Alene that said those who tout it by saying the farmers are for it are lying deluded.  Farmers hate it! Just makes for longer days as they wait for crops to dry out, and cows and other animals are not fooled and follow their usual routine.  My theory?  Those who want to golf after work are behind the whole thing.  Oh yeah--and the supposed energy savings?  Not exactly true.  Studies show it a dead even or maybe even uses a little more.  I grew up without daylight savings time and seemed to live quite well that way, as did everyone else I knew.  

And that's my soapbox for the week!  ♥

March or January??

We have snow.  Oh, do we have snow!  And cold.  Is it really March?  Or did the calendar go backwards and we're back to January.  Dan has plowed our driveway so many times that there's nowhere else to pile the snow. He shoveled the roof day before yesterday.  The highs are in the twenties and the lows are single digits.  Baby, it's cold outside!!  But it's beautiful!  

Not much else has been going on here. Our grandson Cameron left yesterday for six months in Kigali, Rwanda, with Youth With A Mission and that's kinda occupied my mind for the last week or so.  He should have landed this morning (seven in the evening their time) after a twenty-two hour journey.  Needless to say this grammy was traveling right along in her mind. 

Oh, wait! I have been working on getting all my files transferred from my old computer to my new one.  It's taking a while because I'm looking through all my folders to see what's actually in them and deleting stuff I know I'll never need or use.  It's turning out to be quite time-consuming, but I think it'll be worth it.  

It's sunny out today and I'm thinking I need to go stitch a seam or two sometime today.  I got a new doll pattern book recently and while I'd love to get started on a dress or two, I'm one of those crazy people who only has one project going at a time and I need to work on the Snowy Day quilt first.  I saw this little picture on line today and it fits my day, I think.

Here's to a beautiful, sunny winter day in my sewing room--hopefully! ♥

Progress is Made!

If I had realized that the Snowy Day quilt involved making templates for many of the pieces, I'm not sure I would have allowed myself to like it quite so much.  After I pulled the fabrics from my stash, I began to read the directions and lo and behold, read the dreaded words, "Make templates for shapes A through E".  Say what?!? Hmmm...  So needless to say, I had to ponder for a few days.  

Finally, I said to myself, "Be brave! Do it!" I hunted around in my quilting drawer and found template plastic I probably bought over twenty-five years ago.  Maybe more!  I carefully traced the shapes and cut them out and began cutting the fabric.  As you can imagine, all of this took some time, a little done here, a little done there.  I began with the trees and the background fabric.  

Background fabrics and some of the templates

When I had all the pieces for the tree blocks, I began stitching.  

A batch of flying geese.

Then I began assembling the actual trees.

Just before dinner tonight I finished all the tree blocks. Now it's time to use more templates to cut pieces for the house blocks.  Thankfully most of the house pieces will be simple to cut rectangles and I can use my rulers and rotary cutter.  I'll never win any prizes for fast piecing, but I'm having fun! ♥