Five Shadows

Today I am celebrating my birthday with family and friends. I’ll be meeting some of my girlfriends for lunch. And then, those who can, well join me to take in a local quilt show. Sisters of the Cloth are displaying quilts at the Jeffrey R. Krull Gallery - located in our public library, with a reception from 2-4 p.m. The show runs today thru April 5 - if anyone happens to be in the Fort Wayne area.

Pictured here are several fabrics I plan on using in making this cute Ashley purse.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year! I’ve been reading my favorite blogs and the topic of New Year’s resolutions are popping up all over. Not uncommon for this time of the year! I particularly like what Calamity Kim had to say about shutting the door on 2008 and getting on with 2009! I guess she has done just that (thank you Kim!) because 2009 did appear right on time, just like we hoped for! And I read Pokey’s blog (Clothe Paper Scissors & Quilting Arts editor - my two fav magazines!) and entered her giveaway. Her resolution is to “keep it simple.” My dear husband and I talked a bit about resolutions and he thought he’d go with the “lose 25 pounds” type. I suggested he change that to “go for walks several times a week with my wife” and he would not have the guilt of NOT losing weight, but would actually see a weight loss because we are out walking together. Both of us would benefit! My resolution is to “live guilt free” this year. I tend to let myself get involved in things because of the guilt factor. Things I don’t want to do, but do anyway, because of what I think people expect from me. THAT is a silly way to live one’s life! I want to create more and see where that leads. I ran across the Creative Everyday blog and thought that was such a good idea! It is a challenge to create something everyday but in a way that sounded like no pressure. Creating could include cooking, singing, doodling, etc. I got to thinking, by Leah’s definition, I do create every day. Bye-bye guilt for thinking it has to be some form of art or craft! I cook from scratch, I lite candles, I like simple center pieces, I often sing in the shower, and I do even make it to my sewing table to create. I enjoy a walk in our backyard garden and I occasionally will sketch something I see. I guess I do more creating than I thought! So “living guilt free” will be my 2009 catch phrase!

What about you? Do you have a word or phrase, or resolution to live by for 2009?

I wanted to show the quilties I received from the Shades of Forest Swap hosted by Lenna. But for some reason I can not figure out, I can not get them to load properly in my post. They are all so pretty! You can see all the quilties on Lenna’s blog - follow the above link. Lenna will be hosting new swaps in 2009! Do consider joining! And I’ll try figuring out how to post the pictures.

Greetings faithful readers! And Belated Christmas Wishes to all! I’m still behind on things due to the ice storm that hit here last week. Our power was out for four and a half days. We could still communicate to the world by our cell phones. On the second day we went to my husband’s office to warm up, but then power went out there too! What a surprise to suddenly be sitting in total darkness. We had flashlights with us, as we would be returning to a dark house. So we packed up and headed out. A generator did power a light at the end of the hallway as we headed to the door.

Back at home, my husband was able to hook up a small generator, (Thanks Denny!) lent to us by a friend, to power our gas furnace. For the next three days, we would warm up the house a bit in the morning, cook breakfast on the gas range, and then turn off the generator and head to some warm public place - like the library or mall. Then in the evening we would return home and once again heat up the house, light the antique oil lamps, and play games and drink hot chocolate. Then turn the furnace/generator off again and head to bed with extra blankets and quilts. It would be in the 40s by morning and we started the whole routine over again. By day five, the kids got home around 8 p.m. and sent a text message saying, “Power!”. What a wonderful word! It was so nice to drive home and see the Christmas tree lights on and to step into a warm house!

Even with the inconvenience of no power for a few days, the ice on the trees was beautiful. My daughter took the pic.

When the mice are away the cat gets to play! All my darling children* are out of the house this week. I’m going to use the extra moments to catch up on some sewing and creating. Pictured here is the pumpkin patch I have created and attached to the canvas bag that is to be passed on to the next person in the round robin this Sunday. This is the first of 11 bags to pass through my hands. The theme for this bag was “country” and at this time of year what better says country than a patch of pumpkins!?

*My two youngest darlings left for NE for the National Homeschool Volleyball Tournament this morning. They are two excited young ladies!

Such a busy day. A friend was holding a craft day at the lodge at StillWater Retreat. She asked us to bring a salad to share for lunch and she provided desserts.Then for the evening meal she provided homemade soups and breads. I had a doctor’s appt so had to leave soon after lunch. Then I grocery shopped for the concessions for my daughters’ volleyball game that was earlier tonight. Got home and the girls helped me prepare the food. After the games, I headed back out to the retreat and worked on the second of two coordinating twin quilts. I got home soon after midnight and should have gone to bed. But with the fam all sound asleep I’ve been playing around on the internet with no interruptions  :-)  visiting blogs and hopping around. It was a long day, a nice day - minus the prednisone injection into my right ear - through the eardrum! Ouch! I’ll save that story for another post.

Here are two little quilties and I did indeed use one of the photos my son took while in Sweden. But first, I want to explain that during supper tonight our conversation was about all the wonderful native plants we saw today on our walk at Arrowhead Marsh. A prairie/marsh area being restored in upper state Indiana by Little River Wetlands. This conversation with its twists and turns lead to the fact that the picture of the sunflower I used in the quilties was taken at the Carl LInnaeus garden in Uppsala, Sweden. Carl (1707-1778) is the father of modern taxonomy for both animals and plants and my son toured his gardens while in Sweden. How cool is that!? I just liked the picture! But now I know a little of the history behind it! - or how plants got their scientific names.

I’m looking through pictures my son took while in Sweden this summer. And they have me thinking of the next swap, Shades of Sunshine, I must get busy on as it is due later this month.

I’m so pleased to say yesterday ended with a broad smile on my face. As a family, we packed up three cars to help transport our two sons and all their stuff back to university. After setting up young-son-two in his dorm we headed to the local ice cream eatery. Being a very popular ice cream parlor and being that upperclassman would be moving back on to campus with families like us heading to Ivanhoe’s, we anticipated joining the long line of customers. Once receiving our treats - that first yummy taste - there was no doubt that the time waiting had been well spent!

With young-son-two squared away, we head further south to meet up with young-son-one. Just recently back from a trip to Sweden, he is moving back into his apartment and will continue to work on a master’s degree in physics. We unpack his stuff and the girls get a tour of the small apartment, giving their approval. After a quick trip to the grocery store, young-son-one is pretty much settled in and with the hours of the day ticking away, we head for home. Daughter-number-one is dropped back off at her school of higher education with much kisses and fanfare. She loves road trips and having started school several weeks before her brothers opted to take the road trip with us today.

As I settled into bed last night, I got the strong sense that all is as it should be. The three eldest are pursuing their interests and preparing for their futures. DH returns to his job investing in the future of young adults at the college where he teaches. And I will continue at home with our two youngest children - teenagers both, really not young at all - making this my 22 year as a homeschool teacher. Yes, all is as it should be.

I just had my first lesson on importing photos to iPhoto. DH showed me how to enhance and then save them in their proper folder. So here is a test run - with the photos out of order. I’ll have to work on that… The first photo is of two of the guys digging post holes. The second shows the pickets being screwed in place. Third,  the first picket going up. And the last photo is of a vertical post taken out while the post hole is dug deeper. The young man is acting as the “post.” We are such a funny group! The privacy fence is being built around an equipment yard at a camp for inner city children. My daughter wrote and won a grant through Youth as Resources. She used the grant money to purchase the materials for the fence. Each step through the grant process has been a wonderful learning experience for her. She is the young lady in the blue hoodie.

I keep hoping that I’ll have time to learn how to better manage this blog - and my DH has promised to show me a few things. So here is hoping that with the end of the semester his promise will come true! For the past several weeks we have been having phone problems. Lots of static on the line. The phone company sent out the service guy and he worked in the outside box and on the telephone pole. The noise on the line stopped …. for a few days and then was back in full static noisiness. Two more frustrating weeks and phone calls to the company later, we as of this morning have a new line buried out side and a phone that is once more working! All this time the internet connection was creeping along at slow speed and often we could not connect. That seems to be solved too!

The Prom was a huge success! I have pictures to share but as I said… I need to learn how to better manage this site and formatting the photos is one of the things I need to learn.

And I’m learning to use my DH digital camera! You may all be laughing at that, but I’m just not a camera person. That being the case, I took 75 photos yesterday at a service day for my children’s 4-H club. And I’m proud to say I think they turned out pretty darn well! Again - I promise to share them, here, soon. And I’ll tell you about that the project ‘cas it was made possible by a Grant my daughter won through Youth as Resources.

It is so pretty out today. After a week of rain it is warm and sunny. (Rain in the forecast again for tomorrow, Mother’s Day - bummer. We might have to miss our usual trek to a local State park where we search for the Lady Slippers blooming.) But, the Jack-in-the-Pulpit are blooming in our back yard! They are my favorite spring wild flower!