Recent road trip to a park with lovely waterfalls.
Daughter needs to use a loo – you know, the ladies room, rest room, r n’ r, powder room, lavatory, commode, privy, outhouse.
We find a clean little two seater with running water and all.
Daughter emerged laughing saying we must be in a high security area ….
TP is under lock and key!!
We could not resist ….
We nabbed some!!!
Checking – coast is clear …..
Mad dash to get-a-way vehicle!!!
… so I’m just a little late with this announcement, BUT, my son’s widget, Padlock, for Mac OS X was the staff’s Number ONE widget pick just a few days ago!
He creates widgets for Dashboard OS X and also he writes applications for the iPhone. His latest iPhone game, Haunted Mirror Maze, is currently on sale for just $1.00 as a Halloween special!
Way to go Luke! Love ya! Mom
While in Knoxville last week, I solicited the help of my 8 year old friend Ruthie to help with the wrecking. She was more than happy to help out! Actually, rather gleeful! Wish I had a picture to show her in action! She is a very special and sweet child with Down Syndrome. Her name is Ruth Rachel, but by the end of our playing, I was calling her Ruth Rascal, which her mother said was very fitting! I showed Ruth my journal while her Mom had to run some errands and asked if she would like to do some ‘art’ with me. “YES!” she replied! So I turned to a blank page and asked her to write her name, which she did with no problems. Then I ripped out the page and crumpled it up so we could play Journal Golf. She was very good at kicking the paper ball through the ‘tent’ but the book is getting so full that I had to mostly hold it up.
Next I traced her hand and then she drew in her fingernails. She is so cute giggling as she colored away!
Then I turned to the color out side the lines pages and Ruthie did her thing!
By this time the markers are falling on the floor so I bent down to pick them up and Ruthie is just giggling and coloring away! BUT as I sit back up, Ruthie has turned to the pencil poke page and is adding her signature art work to that page! At first I thought “OH no! this page is just like I like it!” But the very next thought was “this is a wreck this journal venture” so I picked up a marker and joined in coloring in the circles on the page. And thus I started calling her Ruth Rascal.
The last page for last week was glueing in a newspaper page. I found the job fair page and glued it in as a hint to my hubby! He had applied to a job west of Knoxville, but had not heard anything back from them. I wanted him to call while in the area. He wasn’t feeling well by this time – picked up some virus or bacteria on our trip – coughing, sore throat, headache. Anyway the page is in and the good news is he does now have a one year position starting this week at a local state university in our home town! So thank you to all who have shared kind thoughts and encouragement in response to my post about the need for a job back in Week 2 of the Wrecking! This gives us some breathing space as his search for a full time position will continue. …. Thanks again for the well wishes during this time!
Sorry I have been so long in posting. I have lots to share and will start with this picture of these pretty ladies on their way to “Moonlit Morocco” Prom 2009.
Charis and Anna
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.
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.
