The gratitude and the Dolly quilt

 Yesterday I finished the quilt for my Dolly.  I am thrilled that I tried the free motion quilting and felt successful..it was after all a small project.  Using up scraps was the least of the fun.  It was just fun and I am grateful.  It was a take on the quilt done by...Melissa on the post she shared on Moda Bake Shop a few weeks ago.

 I am so grateful that I have quilting to enjoy...so very grateful.

 And with quilting comes quilting friends...yup..more gratitude..sounding sappy here...well so be it.  Sounding repetitive...well I am getting older..so I can get away with it!!  I hope:)

 Today'sit and sew brought so much fun.  A wonderful group of friends, the hum of the sewing machines. And, look...I finished ten potholder tops and one set of strings for the season's gifts.  I would never have accomplished so much without my friends and of course the M&M's my sister brought:)  A wonderful potluck lunch didn't hurt either.

And then there is the mother thing.  I hope you all do not think I am arrogant in thinking that my mother is so special.  I am very grateful that I was able to laugh over canasta with my grandmother when she was 99 and a half.  And I am grateful that I am able to laugh and chat and gossip with my mother at age 90.  But, I think I have got it now.  My mother is special to me and she has not been the same since she got home from the hospital.  She has not once picked up her beloved Kindle that she got for her 90th birthday.  She is forgetting how to use the computer and thus struggles with her poetry.  She is unable to stand like she used to and today Patrick had to lift her from the wheelchair to her recliner. That is something that never happened before.  She struggles swallowing and without food, her energy is weak.  She feels sad.  I get it that I cannot fix these things.  I get that life comes like a river and I cannot stop the river.  My worry and fight will not fix whatever is going to be.  So I will bring her flowers and sherbet and chocolate milk shakes with protein and visit and laugh with her and work hard on acceptance, very hard.