Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Back Sewing Again

 The Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild has a challenge.  Folks brought in UFO's to give away to others who wanted to use them in something else.  I got these from Elizabeth.  I love a challenge and so now I am back sewing..TBTG.   The piece on the right was thick so it begged to be a hotpad...   The other two pieces I have cut for my future project.
 

 I am working too on my Brown Bear quilt....I just love to sew!!!!!

Just for the birds...

By my front door I have a collection of fake birds from my grandmother.  She always had them on a special tree at Christmas.
Evidently the Carolina Wren likes some company as she makes her nest, so she decides to do it by my front door.  She comes every year...same time, same place.
 
This year she has 5 eggs in her nest.  Every time someone opens the front door...she flies out of her nest scaring the wits out of the humans.
 I am trying to keep up...IKEA supplies me with owl puppets for friends with babies.
 Do not tell my organic, kale loving daughter.  But, she is influencing me one thing at a time.  We even get 1% milk now and jellies without high fructose corn syrup.  Better late than ever.
Just sharing.....

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Playing a poor hand well, still....

 My dearest man never whines or complains..he leaves that all to me!!  ALS does not have him down.  Instead of tennis, he has switched to bird watching. He joined the Audobon society of Charlotte.  The new motorized wheelchair has given him some life back and he is using it perfectly.  Here he is with the chair back in the perfect bird watching position.  PS...Elizabeth has advised me that motorized wheelchair is a more appropriate term than electric chair...:)
 My wonderful pool friends had given me a generous gift card which I had been holding to my heart. Today I bought some supplies for Mr. O'Quilts with some of that money... Two new bird feeders and some different kinds of bird food.
 Can u see them in the tree ready for the Finches and Cardinals and Woodpeckers??

I still cannot seem to sew..Just eating chocolate...
 Check this out...  Happy

BTW...thank you RD
Photo



Sunday, April 13, 2014

Being Green

Aunt Emily brought these bean seeds from the farm bed and breakfast in Asheville..
Today they were planted in the little pots.
Then the fun began...weeding and preparing the plot for bean planting...Oh, my how much fun was this..."He is weeding my corner, it is too hot, I do not like this Grandma!!!, etc"  But they got it done and this will be our bean garden:)  LOL
 My design wall is in Mr.O'Quilt's new bedroom.  So I found some old green flannel and just made me a new one...for now...Friends are having babies so I want to start geting ready.
 Here we have the next stage of the Brown Bear baby quilt.
Sewing always makes a day better.

More to Inspire

A few beautiful days ...Great family time with the kids playing in their bathing suits and Mr. O'Quilts getting back a bit of his life in his new electric wheelchair.  We have all the windows wide open and the birds are so so noisy...letting us all know it is spring in the Carolinas.  Trying here some light- heartedness...with....
 
Sewing on a tractor!!!!
 A big thank you to Beth for sending this to me and to Becky for doing it....ha!!!   and then...


Gratefulness.org   
Thank you to Mary Pat for sharing this site with me....very helpful.

This five year old someone insists on doing her own hair...Good thing I  am choosing my battles....

 This morning I woke up to this!!!  When my daughter cooks, we call it Emi-Lou's Cafe!!  Homemade fresh blackberry scones, bacon, oranges,etc....  When she leaves it will be back to cereal and bananas!!!  She makes us all so very happy.




Friday, April 11, 2014

From my daughter with love

She found my chocolate in my purse...She ranted and she raved....
 And then she sent me this link....So ha!!!! 


Vindicated at last...
.Friends...just put those M&M bags on my porch any time you want...lol...love you all.


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Strong Women Shore me up

Friends....... What would I do without you?????
  Today came Rosie the Riveter  Sherry with her tools to secure Marni's wheelchair ramps to our doorway.  She brought her riveting tools and fixed away!!!  Thank you Sherry!!
                                                   And then came, Nancy, the gardener...!!
 She and my girl planted the garden today.  Weeding and planting and enjoying the lovely Carolina day, while my arthritis and I sat in a chair and visited with them all.  Thank you Nancy!!!  Thank you Emily!!!
 I had just been to Aldi and splurged on two $7 plants...Tri-color pimento peppers and a big old tomato plant...huge they are...(Nancy and Emily were more practical with their plant contributions).
 Bargain napkins at Aldi too...Pattern.reminding me of the sewing I have not been able to do in weeks...Missing it sew.
 I really want to create, but I cannot concentrate.  I kinda just walk around in a daze.  Tonight I made myself put lattice on these blocks.  I really like Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  I think a Brown Bear quilt gifted with the book makes a sweet present.  At least I started at the machine again.
Grateful, grateful, grateful me!!!

The Bitter and the Sweet

Mr.O'Quilts just ordered a new addition for his hospital bed...a trapeze.  He needs help turning over in bed and getting up.
 My girl making home made ice cream with the grands....Vegan style?????  They do not care as long as it has chocolate in it.
 One tiny taste for me, and it was gone in a heart beat!!
 Here, Zoe tries hard to keep the bad things at bay.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

After 3 and a half months here helping us, and working remotely to her job abroad, my girl has to go home.  Oh, Lordy...I just gotta take a deep breath!!
I am trying to practice the saying of these parts of the country....
.
"Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you"
I know deep down that we will be ok..
She has set a very high standard for us.
I am trying to celebrate the day instead of. even thinking about tomorrow.  
As they say, one day at a time.
 Who could resist a smile when these two are gardening for me!!

Friday, April 4, 2014

Pink, Pink...You Stink!!

Just over 5 days of double Pink Eye...Hello...at my age I have never had it before and it hurt.  Rather than expose you all to my sorry face, I decided to take a look at my pink stash...wow...sorely lacking...puny...as in not much...well I do know how to remedy that one:)
 Here we have my sister showing her ZigZag with character quilt...ha..Terri quilted it for her and it will be delivered soon full of the signatures taken from her friends wedding.
A neighborhood power outage never stopped our quilting group from meeting!!
  Power was out from 4:30 to 9 pm...Marie managed to turn 65 anyway, even in the dark...the champagne helped a lot:)
I am so thrilled to have another baker in the house...
Cousins came in last night for a visit and left today...lots of love and laughter and fun down memory lane for Mr. O'Quilts and his family.  There was Mary coming in from Texas, Vinnie from New York, Conrad from Ireland and Brendan from Tampa...Well, they all come from Ireland, but live these other places now.  Can you imagine all flying in to Charlotte airport within an hour of each other like it was nothing!!!
 The construction for the wheelchair accessibility is finished.  Sigh!!  The tulips are blooming, the birds are singing and spring is here...Now, I just need someone to dig up my garden so I can put in the cukes and zucchini....
.A light breeze is blowing thru my sewing room window...
Just for today...and that is all I need.