Working on the Stars on Alabama Quilt...Still

With all the snow and ice, I've actually had time to work on Grandma Hunnybunny's quilt. All that's left is quilting the borders and binding it. The tension just wasn't right every time I tried to do a sample. I played around with it yesterday and managed to get it perfect, (after a few mishaps and some ripping was involved) so I may be ready to bind it this weekend. Then there's the label to think about. Last time, I wimped out, and had my friend, Debra,do a beautiful label for the Boyscout quilt. I may try to do one, or just get her to help me out again. She did such a beautiful job! By the way, she's working on a special project, the Homeless Teen Project for Willis Independent School District in TX. She's taken it upon herself to provide a twin sized quilt for each teen. If you would like to contribute to the Project, she will gladly pay postage for the supplies or swap embroidery. Just put a note in your box. Email her at debraspincic@yahoo.com. As quilters, we should get behind this very gracious lady and send her some donations of
* Miscellaneous Blocks or Quilt UFOs
* Thread
* Backings like Sheets, Shower curtains, Curtains, Tshirt Knits, Wool blends
* Batting (or Pieces), Bedspread, Wool Pieces, Fleece
* Any Sturdy Fabrics
Debra has a heart as big as the state she's from, and she organized projects where we got Quilts of Valor into soldiers' hands, and quilts for a children's home.
This picture is for laughs. My crazy boys, Hollywood, Dyl Pickle, and the Legal Adult. The Legal Adult and roommate were guests at our house while awaiting their power to be restored. It's always good to see him, and since he's grown up, even more so.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I remember that song growing up in Florida, and had absolutely NO REFERENCE. What's so wondrous about walking outside in shorts in January? But since I've moved North of the Mason-Dixon line, I have definitely been educated.


I won't bore you with too many pictures, but if you're my family, check out my flickr.com box to the right. We took allot of pics and for all the dangerousness of it all, it's still very beautiful. Grandma Kim, you should've stayed. You'd of gotten your snowstorm.








I am amazed that this old hickory tree hasn't come down with all the ice and snow on it. And when I heard the word "historic" referring to this storm, I cringed. Seems like since 2004 I have been through a few "historic" storms in this region. When we were moving, like in the moving van, we were speeding our way to a line of twisters without knowing. That same winter, the biggest icestorm on record. Grandma Hunnybunny will never let me live that one down. She comes to see us, and we are trapped in the house.

Well, Kentucky's still nice, just nice and cold. And having four seasons is pretty cool, too. You just have to take the good with the bad. The springs here in Kentucky are glorious, and summers aren't the scorchers I've lived through in Tennessee and North Florida. When the weatherman says it's "gonna be a scorcher" at 87 degrees, I just smile. Everybody has their point of reference, I guess.

Editor's Note: My college buddy, Sandy, mentioned that I was geographically challenged. And she's right. For some reason, I always thought the Mason-Dixon line was a little south of here. I guess my confusion came in when I started going to restaurants in this area that didn't serve cooked grits or sweet tea on the menu. I just assumed I had crossed the line.;)

Time flies when you're .....having fun?

Our dear friend Bill Engvall would say, "Here's your sign!" if he looked at this. I've been with the Hunnybunny family this past week as Grandmas (Great and Daughter of Great) came to see us. It would have been a good time if not for a family crises, (not our immediate family) and extreme cold temps. Poor Great Grandma Hunnybunny nearly froze her hiney off as she is from Miami. Wouldn't you know it, Kentucky had the coldest temps in 5 years the ENTIRE time they were here!
Oh, and I ended up going to the doctor before they got here. Turns out that the barking cough that I conjured up WASN'T normal. They put me on an inhaler and Advair so I could get the inflammation down. And the doctor suggested that asthma might be the culprit. She correlated the dates on my chart and noticed a pattern. Every November, seems like I come down with some type of barking cough.
"But aren't I a little old for that, Doc? I thought little kids got diagnosed with it." Turns out there is a thing called a "seasonal asthma". Who'd a thunk it? To the left is my RX for myself.

That being said, I'll be by to see you this week. Hope you'll forgive me for not being around as much. But you were always on my mind.:)

Middle School Son's First Date

When I was growing up in the 70's, the phrase for a couple who wanted to be exclusive was "going together".

Typical language between teen girls of the time: "Are you going with Jake?"
"I can't believe she's going with him!"
Now, the terminology is "going out", as in "Do you want to start going out?".
Back in the 70's, the same phrase referred to dating. Things have certainly changed, I remember while working away from home one summer, a guy MAILED me his class ring and the note attached said: "Will you go with me?" . He was great about letters, too. And a year ahead of me in school. So, he wrote me most of my senior year from college. Anyway, enough about my ex-boyfriend.

Number 2 son now has a "girlfriend". She's as cute as she can be, and also goes to his youth group at church, so that's a plus. He comes to me asking if he can start going out with her. And that's how I got my aforementioned education. Now that I understand what he's talking about, (essentially, he wants to have a girlfriend) sure, go ahead. I know that he can't actually take her out in my understanding of the phrase because the rules are that he can't go out unescorted until he's got a license. So, he gets brave and asks if he can take her to a horror movie she wants to see. Knowing Hunnybunny would be as much fun as taking my mother-in-law on my honeymoon, I volunteered to be the chaperon. But, I didn't want to sit in the dark watching some scary movie. So I suggested roller skating. When his dad and I went out the first time back in 1982, that's what we did. There was a caveat to going: he had to call her dad and ask permission.
That's the southern thing to do and it would let us both know how serious he was about this girl.
I prepped him as best I could.

"It's always Sir, not yes, not no, 'yes, sir" and 'no, sir.' Got it? Even if he says you're pond scum, you say, 'yes, sir'. " And he did. The dad was so impressed according to the girlfriend. And I knew he would be.
"But I was so scared," he later told Hunnybunny.
"Good. Never get to comfortable with the dad." He advised.

We pick her up and meet her dad. After exchanging cell numbers, and curfew time, we head for the rink. Even going to the rink is a lot different. It was nice that I didn't have to pay as I was the chaperon. But I had to go through a metal detector, and they searched my purse and bag. All they found was a bunch of quilting books I had brought to read.
As he skated off with her, hand in hand, I kept thinking of that little baby who gave me kisses at 5 months old. The little boy who thought that Hamburger Helper was the greatest meal ever. I didn't cry, but I certainly felt like it. Maybe it was the bond, but he kept coming over to the table and checking on me. I'm sure she was confused, but I wasn't. He was trying to make it easy on me. ( Wonder what I'm going to be like when he goes to the prom?) I think I might have done something right where he's concerned. Of course, with such great material, who wouldn't have?

Resolution or Revelation? Thinking out loud...

I'm not really one for resolutions or publicly detailing them. I guess I always feel like if I don't make it, it's right here in black and white. Or pixels. But we've been together a while now, so I'll risk it and let you know what I'd like to change in 2009.

1. More time with God. You know, the Creator of the Universe took out time in His busy schedule to see to it that I walked on the earth, the least I can do is hang out with Him and study His word to hear what He has to say.

2. More family time. This one is actually in the works. Hunnybunny changed jobs so we could actually see him and it's worked out well. Maybe a camping trip would be cool?

3. More quilting time. Oh, yeah, I get the same 24 hours as you, but apparently I'm not using them so well in this arena. It's a crying shame to have FIVE, count 'em, FIVE sewing machines and not use them. I also have every gadget a quilter could ask for so I'm thinking I'm afraid of failure. Ever put off doing something because you're afraid you reek at it?

4. More blog time. Negligent doesn't quite cover it. I've been backing off lately and some of it has to do with the time factor. Some has to do with me thinking maybe there isn't anything else to say. But some of you know that I usually don't EVER run out of things to say...;). And truthfully, I'm writing this blog for me. It's so cool that you all read and comment, (and I appreciate it very much!) but I write to let this stuff out of my heart and head so I don't forget. And sometimes, so I won't carry it around.

So maybe this list isn't as much of a resolution list as it is a time management wake-up call. Perhaps getting organized would make some of this fall into place? I'll give it a shot.

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'......