The Highlights of 2008

...and considering Father Time has been on me all year, I'm looking forward to 2009. I would say, "Can things get any worse?" But sure as I do, things will get worse. And I just don't want to jinx it.

My Top Ten highlights from 2008:

10.The long-awaited Dark Knight came into theaters. Unfortunately,in January, Heath Ledger died. That was really sad. So young.

9. Met Jim Caviezel in April.

8. Got to see my husband more in 4 months (with his new job) than in the two years he was with his other job.

7. Watched as America elected a new president.

6. Finished the Boy Scout Quilt for Chip.

5. Finished the quilt top for "Stars Fell on Alabama" quilt for Grandma Hunnybunny.

4. Reconnected with a lot of old friends on Facebook.

3. Got a Minnesota Treadle from 1904 for $10!

2. Watched The Legal Adult become gainfully employed.

1. Put another son in kindergarten and lived to tell the tale.

By the way, I hope and pray for your family a Happy New Year!

It's a girls' night out.......

....and honey, there ain't no doubt....blah, blah, blah. Wasn't that a Judd's song? It's not really a girl's night out as much as it's a LONG weekend for me. I'm going to see my best buddy, Robin, down in Chattanooga because I'm drowning in the testosterone ocean at my house. I'm hoping to get a little shopping done for those guys since they won't be around.

I was inspired by my friend,Katie, over at My Sandbox to take a look at Craig's List and just see what I could find. I've always dreamed of owning a treadle. My Grandma Gussie had a treadle in her sewing closet and always told me someday she'd teach me. Well, she passed in 1985, so that didn't happen. Anyway...here's what I found:
This dear lady had this Minnesota "C" and it was on her porch. I nearly had a hard attack! She obviously wasn't a collector.















She threw in the ORIGINAL AD from the Sears and Roebuck catalog from 1904 as well as the pristine attachments still encased in their original, velvet-lined, metal box!





I always look at old machines like Linus did Charlie Brown's Christmas tree..."All it needs is a little love..". And sewing machine oil, and maybe some WD40.



Here she is, all cleaned up. Guess how much I paid?
$10!

Up to Hoosierville, U.S.A.

We headed north this past weekend. This was due to HB's new job which is based out of Indiana. We were attending the Christmas party, and it was the first time I had met his new comrades. I say new job, but he's been at it awhile now. Basically, he works from our bedroom. He has a business line, laptop, fax machine, the whole works. And he is in sales now. He loves it because he used to do all the research for the equipment he is selling now. We've seen him more in 3 months than in two years. While he loved working at the church doing media for them, the hours got to be too much on our family. So, God is good...all the time.
I guess it's confession time for me. I've been married to Hunnybunny since 2002. This past weekend was our FIRST weekend away without the boys. Wild, huh? If we had the time, we had no money. And vice-versa.
Christmas came early for me this year as Hunnybunny found a Sony store and bought me this Cybershot Digital camera. So, you know me: I went kind of camera happy. Sorry these are taken from the car.












This is the
Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the heart of Indianapolis. It was pretty cool looking. It was only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.








I wish I could tell you something cool about this church, but I couldn't find anything online. Of course, we were driving through town on GAME DAY! It was a miracle that we could tool around at all.

Conversations with The Pickle: How Old is God?

"Mommy, did you know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday?"

"Yes, baby, I did,"

"So, Christmas is when Jesus has His birthday?"

"Yes, Baby, we celebrate Christmas to celebrate when Jesus was born."

Long pause......the wheels were turning.......

"So is He going to be born-again?" Pickle looked at me with total confusion.

"No, Baby."

Another long pause, "Mommy, how old is God?"

No response from me as my wheels were turning...

"Mommy, how old is God??" He definitely used his playground voice

So, I did what any other parent who doesn't know the answer: I passed the buck.

"Go ask your dad," I replied.

From the other room I could hear the interrogation,"Where is God? What do you

mean He's invisible?" "Is He in this room?""Oh, God, I'm coming to find you!".

And that's my prayer everyday.

Father Time is whooping up on me

Coming from the mailbox,I was so excited..three packages, for me for a change. However, the joy was bittersweet. Two of the three were reminders that Father Time has announced his presence.

First, I finally got my glasses! Why I'm excited about that escapes me. Nobody could ever get me to wear them and now I can't read the back of a can or a street sign without them. Remember when I told you about this site, Eyebuydirect.com a while back? Well, I got them. Two pairs for $25.00. The other pair I'm going to use for reading and needlework. I'm just glad I didn't have to pay a fortune just to see.



Recently, I won a $25 gift certificate from Christian Bloggers Online. The gift certificate was for Amazon.com. You'd think quilting books, a movie, something cool like that, right? Nope...it wasn't what I needed. I thought I'd try these:Exciting, no?


Okay, sue me, but I was watching an infomercial about these. I go through shoe inserts so easily I thought maybe they would work. I have that heel spur thing, and translated it means I've been running around barefoot way too long. They feel great, so I'll keep you posted.
It really reeks getting old, doesn't it?

Thanksgiving By The Numbers

1440 miles NOT driven by me as Hunnybunny wanted to drive.

2 different hotel stays: one down, one up. HoJo's isn't as bad as it used to be. Go and price on Hotels.com. Saved us a bundle!
1 visit with a blogging buddy in Marietta, GA. Deborah is so cool!
25 cups of coffee and/or lattes during that week.
2 Older sons not with me this year....one staying at my house because I had heat, one with his dad in Tennessee.

2 turkey dinners and both were righteous. I even learned to like dressing without cornbread in it.

4 viewings of WALL-E on Hunnybunny's laptop by the Pickle on the way down.

25 or more times asked, "Are we in Florida, yet?" by the Pickle.

3 yards of Beatle fabric (You seriously didn't think I was going to make a trip and not buy fabric, did you?) purchased at Wal-Mart in Hunnybunny's hometown.

7 extra pounds of weight due to the way I ate while gone. Diet went totally out the window.

7 copies of Women's Day read cover-to-cover as Grandma Hunnybunny keeps them until I come to town.

45-15 Florida vs. Florida State, in the pouring rain, no less. Now, that was priceless!

Another year of not making with the bird....

We are headed to the Emerald Coast, (well, close to it, anyway) for Thanksgiving. Yet another year of dodging the bullet on making a turkey. Oh, I've done my time on that, I assure you. Since I was a newlywed (the first time) back in '84, I've been getting up at 5:00 AM and putting the turkey in the oven. Only one person that reads this blog (Hey, Karen!) can remember that fiasco of my first Thanksgiving. I had to have the directions read to me as I worked on the turkey. I think we had 20 people in that tiny little apartment. And I was preggers with Jesse, so sick to my stomach that I didn't want any part of eating it. Every year, I always invited those without family to join us. Thanksgiving at my house growing up meant that my stepdad would get up at 3:00 AM to put the turkey in the smoker. He and Mom would actually start drinking then, so by the time we ate, they were definitely feeling no pain. And no hunger. My brothers and I ate by ourselves most of the time. So, the whole concept of a family Thanksgiving was lost on me until I married into this family. It blew me away that folks could cook without the inspiration of alcohol. I dreaded each and every holiday as it would start off like this, and end very badly.

Grandma Hunnybunny will be making the turkey, and the rest of us will be taking orders from her. Suits me just fine. Actually, I mentioned to HB that we could go out for Thanksgiving so we could spend more time together. To me, the holiday is about being together, not the food, although that's nice. Of course he pounded his alfa-male chest and said no way. Tradition is tradition. Well, I'm grateful to God that some traditions can be broken. Like the traditions I grew up with.

Kids, Colds, Quilts, and the Winds of Change

Did you miss me? Well, I stayed away from the keyboard to avoid transferring any cold germs. I keep getting the hacking back, but no fever. Sorry I'm whining. I just don't have time for this.

Halloween was fun as the Pickle and his pals went trick or treating together. The Diva was a different princess this year, Sleeping Beauty, and it was my first time doing little girl hair. The Pickle turned into Batman this year, even though his whole room is Spiderman.

Another reason you've not seen me around is that I'm running out of time on "Stars Fell on Alabama" if I intend to get it quilted before we go to Florida for the holidays. Unfortunately, "Stars" has a ton of white on white. Ever tried to stitch in the ditch when the quilt is white on white? I was/am completely "snow blind". Don't laugh too hard at my solution. Blue painter's tape. Yep. I needed to see where the edge was, so that's what I've been doing. I'm sure there was an easier way, but you know me. A friend told me to use the tailor's chalk, but I still couldn't see it.

I found out that I really should be wearing glasses. It reeks to get old, doesn't it? But I already knew that I should be wearing them. It was 2000 when I got my Rx changed last. I've been getting by with readers from Walmart. But I'm cheap when it comes to anything but fabric. So paying through the nose for frames just didn't appeal to me. I found this site. This guy had enough of paying allot for specs so he created this site to deal with it. My eye doctor is young. When I told her that I intended to fill my Rx online, she actually told me what numbers to put in! Some of the sites actually talk you through your Rx so you can make heads or tales of it. I got a single vision Rx, lens included, for $25! I'll let you know how it works out. There is a 2 week waiting period.

In the meantime, the world theater has changed allot, hasn't it? We have a new President and he seems eager to hit the ground running. This is not a political blog, nor has it ever been. But I will say that I have committed to praying for the President-Elect and his cabinet everyday. Especially in light of the fact he hasn't even had time to grieve for his grandmother yet. That has to be hard.
Hope you all are doing well. I'll be around to see you!

In search of the Great Pumpkin

I spent many an hour waiting for this to come on CBS when I was young. "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" was probably the coolest thing I had ever seen. Linus always did march to the beat of a different drummer, and maybe that's where I relate.
In all the years that followed, I never made it to a pumpkin patch. The Diva's mother invited The Pickle and I to go and it made for a great outing! Of course, we picked the worst possible weekend to go as the infamous Court Days were going on in the middle of town. But with the help of a local judge, (Diva's mother had interviewed him) we found our way to Two Sisters Pumpkin Patch in Mt. Sterling, KY. (Sorry the link is so pitiful. You actually have to scroll down and search for Two Sisters just to find the address and phone number. I told the owners it would be easier if they had a web page!)
They just made it through the corn maze. I barely did, by the way.

The hayride was a big hit! It had been years for me, and a first for the kids.

And there was pumpkin painting. Diva loved this part.
A pickle in a cornfield! He loved trying to hide from us.
And the old married couple themselves. The way they quibble, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they ended up together. There was also a petting zoo of sorts and they got to pet goats and mules.
More pictures to the right on flickr.com.

Two Generations Share the Space

Here you have Exhibit A of my Friday: The Pickle, The Diva, and Easter all playing dress up. The Diva is Sleeping Beauty, Easter is getting married, but not to the Pickle. He was really hurt, but I tried explaining that he didn't need to pick a bride at 5.

Exhibit B: The Middle Son, (who is in the middle of this picture) had a sleep over Thursday night, so they were still all here. Mind you, I don't have very much room in this house. The Teens were watching the antics of youtube on the computer in the kitchen, while the little ones were dancing around them in costume. The funny part? Each group didn't seem to bother the other. They just went about their business. I guess that's what I love most about kids, they adapt to whatever environment they are in.
I had to show how The Diva and Easter kept switching dresses. Seeing Diva in a wedding dress might have proven to be too much for her Papa. Both are such dolls!

Here's my favorite pic of the day: Easter in the wedding dress. In 20+ years, this picture may become a reality for her folks. Isn't she a picture?

A Fellow Blogger Needs You

I'm going to ask you all to do me a favor. Angie over at KEEP BELIEVING got some really bad news about her husband. See, he's had this brain tumor for over ten years. She's been really strong and trying to keep it all together, but we we all need support. I'm going out on a limb here and ask you to ask God to intervene. Just pray. Pray for this family you don't know and go by the blog and tell them you're praying. It would mean alot to me, and everything to them.

Thanks!

"Stars Fell on Alabama " Top Finished

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, y'all... seems my picture-taking teen broke the zoom button, so I'm stuck with crummy pictures until Christmas. Anyway...

I probably wouldn't have chosen the blue border, but Grandma Hunnybunny did, so she can definitely have what she wants.

I picked up backing material tonight. Nothing special, just white, Wal-mart variety fabric. And of course, I forgot to pick up batting, so hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to the store I go.

The goal is to get-r-done BEFORE Thanksgiving. We're making the bi-annual Mecca down to the Emerald Coast to see her. Sort of early Christmas for her.

Hey....I won, too!

It's nice when you win something, isn't it? I gave out prizes today for our Fall Into Fall Quilters Blog Giveaway, Sheryl from Scraps from Sheryl informed me that her DH drew out my name today! I won a pack of I Spy squares suitable for a boy's quilt! Thank you, Sheryl!

Winners of my Fall Into Fall Quilters Blog Giveaway

Here are the winners of the Fall Into Fall Quilters Blog Giveaway. I thought you might want to see who the lucky recipients are.
This 1 yard piece of fabric is from Caryl Bryer Fallert's Gradations line is going to none other than Terry from Terry's Treasures! Congrats, Terry!
The fabric that "called" to me was won by Rose of Quilted Hills! I hope I don't freak her out with the wildness of it. I haven't heard back from her, so if you know her, tell her to email me so I can send her fabric.
This book by Jan Krentz, Lone Star Quilts & Beyond is going over to Fiesta at Quilting Fiesta! So there you go. Thanks to those of you who entered. It was a blast having that many comments and seeing so many new blogs! Thanks allot!

Progress on Jericho's Project

You remember I had my own student the last two summers? And despite me, Jericho put this top together? She was very happy...I, however, was over the moon! Someone created something and I taught them how. She made every stitch, cut and ironed every piece of fabric.
About a month ago, she had a day off from school and finally put on the borders to this quilt. Very ambitious for a 14 year-old, who had never sewn in her whole life. I know her mom is very proud, but me? I'm just bustin'......

All You Need is Love

My oldest brother, Jim, was a teen in the 60's when the Fab Four swept the nation. No surprise that he passed on his love for the Beatles to me. I'm sure it was funny to hear a 3 year old try to sing "Strawberry Fields" at the daycare center, but I knew all the words by heart. About the time I bought my first Beatles poster, they go and break up. How dare they do that! So, I've always thought, "If I just hadn't bought that poster...." . Anyway, fast forward to 1985. I am having trouble getting the then infant Legal Adult to sleep. I start singing Beatles tunes to him, however off key I may be, and he goes to sleep. In 1989, the portable CD player came out, and came down in price (still $200!) and I buy the Beatles Cd's.
The Legal Adult hears this music, day in and day out and loves it. He has always been after me to make a "Beatles Quilt". The only one I had ever seen was made by sisters, Pat Holly and Sue Nickels and won Best of Show in the AQS show in 1998.How happy I was to learn that Cranston had come along with Beatles fabric from the cartoon! That way, I didn't have to try to come up with Beatle images and loads of applique, which I completely reek at. Well, I guess I could've done the whole fusible thing, like I did for the Boy Scout quilt. But that wouldn't hold up to the Legal Adults wear and tear. He plans on using this quilt. His Aunt made him a quilt as a child and he's still using it!
This spirally, groovy, funky, 60ish fabric is from
Funtastic Fabrics, and I thought it was perfect!

So, the Beatles fabric is PREORDERED from my favorite online shop, Over the Rainbow. I got it for $6.99 instead of $8.75 that allot of other online shops were charging.
Now, to figure out how to put it all together so he can have it before Christmas! Ironically, I found this picture on my computer....you can tell that John was his favorite Beatle, can't you?

Living with Lambchop

You remember this wonderful woman, Shari Lewis. She was as much a part of my childhood as Applejacks and Captain Kangaroo. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that any of my kids would be influenced by her brand of coolness. But, I am happily wrong.
I bought this for the Pickle BEFORE he was born. I was working at a hospital, and this was on the shelf at the gift shop. I just knew this was going to be what my baby slept with. But it didn't happen that way. He ignored it for years. It wasn't until I was about to give it to "Idgy", (the baby I keep), that he picked it up and it's been a part of lives ever since.

The Pickle has slept with all kinds of inanimate objects, none of which were anything classified as a nighttime sleep toy. You remember "Toothbrush" from long ago. He never actually used it to brush his teeth with, but it was an action figure of sorts. Pickle has slept with cell phones, computer keyboards, and any type of gadget you can imagine. Seeing him embrace this little Lambchop is really mindblowing. Even the toughest of boys has a special toy that becomes "real", like the Velveteen Rabbit. (I love the story of the Velveteen Rabbit as many of my toys became "real.) Lambchop goes to kindergarten every morning, and has to be in the car when he gets out of school. Even the Diva (who I take care of and isn't quite old enough for school) reminds me that I have to "get Lambchop". And of course, Lambchop sleeps with Pickle every night. I decided to research Shari Lewis and Lambchop to see if I could find some actual programs for him to see. Sure enough, in our generation of Youtube, there were plenty of episodes to view. That's how he spent his Saturday morning. Amazing, isn't it, that the most retro of things can still be the coolest?

My son, the married man

Oh, you might be thinking, "The Legal Adult has gone off and gotten married?" And due to his consenting age, that would normally be a good guess for the eldest son. But alas, it isn't the eldest who has claimed a bride, it's the YOUNGEST!

The beautiful girl by his side is his childhood friend, Easter. Of course, that's not her REAL name, but that will do. Pickle informed her mother, my friend, Ally, that they had gotten married last year on the playground. These pictures were taken at a recent playdate. He informed me today that he needed to go see his "wife".
"Wife?"
"Easter, Mommy, Easter!"

She has a birthday coming up this weekend and we are going. Easter will all of 4. You know, you wonder how much they pay attention to what we do. Pickle has an old keyboard on his dresser, along with an old cell phone and deodorant container. Before he treks off to kindergarten, he is at the keyboard.

"What are you doing, Pickle?"

"Checking my email, Mommy."

Then he picks up the phone, " I have to check my voice mail." And finally, he "puts on deodorant". It's all pretend deodorant lest I get any concerned emails. I know they grow up fast, but this is faster than I wanted. I guess he's going to be a family man, like his dad.

The Jury is still out...and thinking

I went to a local quilt history gathering in my town with a quilting girlfriend of mine. One of the speakers was well-known, at least to me, and I looked forward to putting a face with a name.

During her talk, she spoke of supporting our local quilt shops, which I do. More than Hunnybunny would like. And she spoke of her own online shop, which I thought was kind of contradictory, but I let it go. After the meeting, I stood in line to speak to her about my favorite online resource, Quiltshops.com. I guess it's the hormones, but the polite thing to do when someone is waiting to speak to you is to acknowledge your presence. Well, she walked away. My friend and I stared at each other and wondered who did what to her Wheaties. I then followed this woman across the room, where another woman got in front of me and she again walked away. Finally, I caught up with her by touching her shoulder:

"Wow, you're hard to catch!" I laughed. For the record, she didn't.

"I wanted to tell you about Quiltshops.com. You didn't mention them in your resource list." And I told them about the search engine, how you can put a Boolean search to look for this, not that,ect. She proceeded to give me a lecture about supporting our local quilt shops and how using the internet was a way to put small shops out of business.

"I do use them. However, if there's a fabric I can't find, I'll look there next." She again tried to dissuade me against using the internet to find fabric. Finally, I asked her,

"Did I understand you correctly that you have an internet shop?" She nodded.
"How is that any different? Most shop owners are savvy enough to have a site along with their shop's goods. That way, you don't waste precious gas money if they don't have it."

I honestly can't remember what she said in rebuttal, but I remember walking away thinking that maybe I don't need to go to any more of these 'educational' meetings. The sad part is she is part of our local guild, and if I re upped, I'd run into her. I guess I'm struggling with this mentality of "you have to do it this way". The internet has lots of options for people and fabric ordering is probably my favorite. I utterly despise walking into a quilt shop and having to look through all those bolts of fabric.



It's nothing personal, usually I'm dragging some child or husband with me and they are less than enthused. So, what do you think? Is the internet going to be the downfall of the local quilt shop or can they co-exist?