Happy Birthday to my sister...12-28------

My sister's birthday was celebrated at our quilting group on Wednesday night
She came right from work...and celebrate we did.
She is 11 years and 11 days younger than I am..
Of course, she is a quilter.

 About 15 years ago, we were in Mountain City, Tennessee browsing through
a huge and lovely antique shop. She bought this vintage top for a few dollars.
When she moved last  year, I snuck or did sneak...lol... it away from her..
.Last night I quilted it!!
Surprise!!!!!.

 I backed it with feathers...I made a pincushion for her too, but where are the pictures???
Mudbrain..

I am often saved by the bell..Christmas eve dinner was saved by my DIL, who remembered tradition
She also remembered the cleaning up...good girl.
My sanity is being saved this weekend by Aunt Brandy who has the children for 6 days giving me a vacation of a lifetime.  I was actually relaxed today.
I stopped by the mall for the first time in a year.
I found some pants that fit my ever growing bottom,  The clerk said that they just went on sale today.She just happened to have an extra 20% off coupon.
Lucky me...It is a God thing.

Because..I am doing well today.

I heard from my girl.
 She had been in Big Sur, California...having a drink with her man in an interesting restaurant, Nepenthe.
She noticed Kaffe Fassett fabric at the cashier's.
Wasn't she surprised to come  upon a bit of history.. Wow.!!
Kaffe Fassett's family homestead and restaurant

Happiness is:

Thriving, growing, healthy, healing, stable and delightful grandchildren!!!

xxxooo

I love you so.

The Year We Had Lima Beans for Christmas Dinner

And Grandma forgot the Christmas crackers, and the cats ruined the tree,
and we were sad without the kid's daddy and sad without Granddaddy and sad without
Great-grandma, and sad without Aunt Emily, Uncle Brian, Uncle Ray and Aunt Alicia.
But we had lima beans and a lovely time.
Actually, the reason for the season came alive as Evan lighted a candle for Granddaddy.
Lynsey composed a Christmas song which she played on the piano that she cannot play.
She said a grace that she learned at Aunt Brandy's house.
We all said words of gratitude.

 Santa must admire two brothers getting along on Christmas Eve...
Eleven and six years old.

Voila, the family I did not have...
Looks like I had been  looking at my thunderstorms
instead of my rainbows...three children, my sister and niece
My DIL and future Step SIL??

Finally Grandma got out of her sad recliner to  make Christmas cookies
and fudge.  I am glad that I made the effort.
My DIL decided that lima beans and Bagel bites pizza were not Christmas Eve
material, so she brought steak...I cooked it...It was perfect.
She persuaded Evan that the mini pizzas were better on Christmas Day and he agreed!!

Lynsey was in charge of arranging the sweets for dessert.
We all ate too many of them.
DIL is spending the night..
Santa has come and sleep is coming for the grownups.
Oh, Dear me..this is no longer a Christmas Eve post.
It is now Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas everyone.!!
PS
I have to include a sewing project:
A sewing project for Stephanie for Christmas.

Plastic Bag holder tutorial
This tute is close to the one I used.
I did not line mine and I did  not quilt mine.
Really, I used Muggs', cutting piece 20x25.
Using elastic on top and bottom.
6.5 inches on bottom and 11inches of 1/4 inch elastic
I also used just plain cotton..Stephanie wanted Ball teams for hers
Muggs gave me one years ago for Christmas and we have forever used it in the pantry.
Now, another Merry Christmas and to all a good  night!
xxoo.

The Holiday Begins...

The first cheer of the season is from our dear Eithne...

Fine, Stitch...show off...Sorry Eithne..

 

 The holiday outfit for Lynsey's doll.

.Can you believe the work, the knitting, the pleated skirt.

The little snowman pin, the gloves, the bow...

xxxxoooo Eithne!!

 The slap happy mantel decoration..wreath from Guatemala

and, lights from IKEA  

With three children and three cats...LED lighting is the safer approach.

My birthday was the17th.

It was hard.

My love was no where to be found.

I have had emails galore, texts, cards and three birthday parties

Saturday night a beautiful Christmas party.

The core problem was still there.

Grief has a will of its own.

Thank you..Stephanie for cheering my day with a lovely cake...
and three darlings singing the birthday song
Love lifts me up..

 A big thanks for all the support and parties from my Wednesday night group 

and the emails and cards and wishes from everyone.

MP knitted the washcloth in my kitchen colors..

 

 My Winey Widows quilting group gave me fat quarters, friendship
and a lovely dinner.

Holiday grief ...wham...Uncontrollable.

How can I cry so??

How can I be so sad??

Look what I have to make me happy!!

 So proud to share the holidays with the kids...
They are thriving.

Gratitude...and love...

Six year old Dylan receives his black belt...yeah!!!

Catching up with his siblings...
It is hard to be the third child.
..His aunts could not come, His mother could not come.
I am not sure he minded...
He was happy with Ms Stephanie, Grandma, his siblings and the $5 I gave him in pride.

My DIL rides another roller coaster of grief and addiction.
The holidays make things worse.
So I guess I will have a new SIL even though my DIL of 12 years is not really
my DIL and my own son is still in the woods, homeless on Heroin.
It gets so complicated. I try to remember Vicktor Frankl
I try to remember gratitude.
I try to remember that I am not in control of anything but myself...
And hardly that even..It is true that I do not post when I am in despair.
No school tomorrow...all the I-pads are plugged in.
And I am sleeping in...Yeah!!
And so the holidays start..

Joy (e) with an e....please email me  your address...so we can chat...lol

Carolina Blue with North Pole Freeze

Brrrrrrrr..
It is going to be 19 degrees F in the morning.

Trying to get my Christmas up.

I do not like the word, can't.

Better, I like the word...sleep,....as in all day...

Sharing...

Guess what keeps the cats away from the tree...

citrus peels. We clipped about 25 of them all over the bottom part of the tree.

 Then, surrounded the base of the tree with pine cones

Lynsey and her mother were then able to decorate the tree.

So far, so good.

 Thank you Ellen for the cutest ornament..a pincushion sleigh!!

 Did I share my Chanukah dog??

Push the ear button and he dances and sings...from the white elephant game at the party.

Derrick, our Orkin man came this afternoon.
I told him that I wished I had a Christmas present for him.
He laughed and told me that he still had my Karate potholder from last year
I asked him if he used it...all the time, he said...I love it.
I offered him another and he jumped on it.
He picked out two more..I was really thrilled.
It never occurred to me to offer a potholder to a very big guy who, on the side teaches Karate and is a bouncer at a club..
I was wrong   So happy.

Today.....
I delivered hand warmers to the school for the teachers.
I delivered the Chanukah tissue covers to the J.
Each time I bumped into just the right people..It is a God thing!!

Gotta tell you that my Wednesday night group put on a wonderful
Birthday party for me last night.  MP gave me my favorite of all favorites.
Little Red Riding Hood's
Grandma and the Wolf...I just love it.
I really turned out just like my mother..surprise...
Toys are too much fun.

Anyway...I so identify....and just so you know...Grandma will win!!!!

Kale is the color of Christmas

For my girl:  Happy Christmas!!

The Christmas top is done and in the basting pile.

At last I found the CivilWar fabric sampler top.

So happy to put it on the design wall for border consideration.

 Finished binding 10 potholders

 Fun Christmas party last night with my widow group.

We had a great time with White Elephant gifts.

 Above my broccoli slaw salad with Kale and tomato garnish.

Below a joke treat...sardines and marshmallows..on kale.

Do not tell anyone...but I did not eat any kale..ha ha..

Now, marshmallows...hmmmm   maybe

 Here we have Stitch...supervising.

A lovely peaceful weekend...very fun.

My grand darlings will be home from their weekend away....any minute.😻

THE Trunk Show!!

My girl is in Bangkok,Thailand...day three picture.

After all day sightseeing, evidently the preferred option available is feet soaking with fish.

Just thought you would  like to know.

They know what is good for them....eg
At one of the temples, they had a 30 minute massage for $6.

My girl in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Report:  She loves it!!!
Message today...They spent all day with 4 couples with 4 elephants out in the rural countryside.
They fed them many times, walked with them through hilly areas. mud bathed them and, rinsed them in the river.  To rinse themselves off in the end, B and E just jumped in the waterfall
 Amazing!!

 They had signed up for a day long cooking class,
 making. 5 different dishes on an organic farm.
Evidently there is quite a cafe life, organic and peaceful.

These chatty updates from their honeymoon in Thailand
make such a difference to me,
She sends me love from wherever she goes.

How can I be so lucky???

It is a lovely reprieve from:

I looked but you weren't there

I called but you didn't answer

I cried but wiped my own tears 

I yelled but no sounds came 

I dreamed and you seemed alive

I awoke but you were no where to be found

I tried to hear your voice but my head was empty

I imagined no tomorrow but I woke up the next day

I closed my eyes but found another day

I finally decided to let you go

To say goodbye once and for all.

Terri Lynn Doten

Just So You Know..Mrs. O'Quilts Continues on....

After my weekend sleep-in...I got a bit more energy.

Energy enough to make a most yummy pot roast in Grandma's dutch oven.

It was a Pioneer Woman recipe..which one, I forgot..but it was terrific.

Actually I saw the post on someones blog...Whose??

 I am ready to baste this quilt top, with a little help from my friends next week.

The red balls are the final addition.

  I will quilt them when I free motion the rest of the quilt.

 

 Poor, poor dog...usurped by a cat!!

 The past few nights have been great fun..Of course, quilty fun.

Wednesday night, the Charlotte Quilt Guild had an awesome Christmas dinner.

  It was catered no less. I won a table prize..potholders and snowflakes...love..

Thursday, today there were 7 of us in one van on a road trip to IKEA

A ten dollar sale snagged this children's duvet cover plus pillow case.

The duvet cover is darling and has at least 5 yards of fabric...Wahoo...

Just how much fun can a quilting group have???

On our list was laughter and we got it first thing...

 Then...cyber Monday fabric sales....still coming in...

as she hides her face in bewilderment..

 This adorable fabric even has a Dala Horse!!

Tuesday night was the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild potluck dinner.

Only 15 people came, but it was soooo much fun.

The end technique was the 15 min of play from Victoria Wolfe.

We all agreed to do some of that for show and tell next month.

I came right home and started with this odd bag of red and white scraps.

Happenstance that they were strips...Oh, so...

I will leave the ironing to another day...or maybe for Lynsey.

This year will be an unusual Christmas...It could be lonely..or not.

I think no one is coming.

I really do not feel like cooking...so...

I asked two of the children what one thing would they like for a special

Christmas dinner...

Evan, age 11...little pizzas from Costco.

Lynsey, age 7....Lima beans.

And I was feeling badly that I was not cooking a turkey!!!!

Thus...the Muldoon news....

Bringing in the hay, caring for the sheep

The children's mother came tonight to relieve Stephanie.
They all had great fun making a big cookie in the snowman pan,
 that I had found at the craft store.

My lovely vacation is over...so worth  Stephanie's wage.

Tomorrow starts again at 6:30 with the buses, etc..Then a school meeting at noon.

I must advocate for my darlings, you know.

AD/HD is tough to handle both at school and at home.

I try always to keep in mind that it is toughest for the child.

In adolescence, I remember telling my son to be sure to use birth control
 because I was not raising another AD/HD kid...
Ha ha..joke on me. Both grand boys have it.

My girl is in Bangkok:  First day a sightseeing boat.

It took them 12 hours to go to Beijing from LAX.
Five more hours to Bangkok.
Lovely to be young.

Just to explain yesterday's post.
My Hospice therapist is really my Hospice bereavement counselor.
Hospice offers counseling services after loved ones die.
eg, my husband and my mother.
I asked for buy one/ get one free at the funeral home...but no dice!

Back to tonight.
I have never been much for football...but I see that Boo is quite charmed...
He even tried to do an interception at some point!!

During the cyber Monday, Tuesday, etc time
I was nuts with stress and grief....and we all know that that means, chocolate, red wine and online fabric sales.  Here is a lot that I never, ever would have considered if the sale had not been so good.
I will now be challenged to create with my Civil War fabric and these New Age Muslins..

 Guess what kind of beverage sits in Great Grandma's Santa cup??
Vino tinto, of course.

My girl and her man ordered two new....cough...refurbished computers for us.
It was genius.  Now all three children do their homework online.
I am amazed at what the 6 and 7 year old are required to do..but, they know and they do.
I am having a hard time figuring out Windows 10...but already the pictures are so much better.

When I let a few depressing days go without posting, I get a number of emails asking if I am ok.
I am grateful for friends who care.

Now the Sunday epiphany:
 I cry that my love is not here to care and share and love with  me....as I age, etc.
I realized that I was able to give him a wonderful gift.
I was able to be with and care for him as he suffered and died.
Grief is so self-absorbed.
I would have chosen to care for him first... if I had thought about it.
 I am so glad to be thinking about it now.
I am grateful.
I know that I will be ok.
xxoo
Time to Say Goodbye

My Lovely Vacation, et. al.

Just go ahead!!  Judge my grief growth by the potholders I make!

Tonight's was one for a Christmas party at the house of a widow friend from our group.

She is a nurse...Check out the back!!

The wonderful pincushion is a gift for Lynsey from Christine's daughter.

Lynsey just gave it a big ol' cupcake hug.

She loved it.

Today she said wisely....Hmm

Grandma, because I cannot sew by myself yet, could I take the pincushion to my room?

My dolly really loves cupcakes and I would like her to have it for awhile!!

Here we go again..another roller coaster ride...this time it is the Santa,holiday trip.

Who knew that year two as a widow would be harder than year one??
Especially at the holidays....

Where did he go?  He would not have left me on purpose!!
My Johnny did not come home from the war, this year either.
Everyone else's Johnny did.

Who knew that when my mother died, it would be forever?

Who knew that the disease of addiction and that of instability

would steal my son and my brother?
Leaving me last man standing.....

Who knew that a no-debt lifestyle would ensure the safety and comfort 

of me and my three young grands.? Instead of retirement.....

Who knew that raising three young grandchildren would be so expensive?

I went to a Christmas party tonight that I did not want to go to.

In spite of myself, It lifted me up.

The minute I returned to an empty house, I crashed.

Who knew that the grands could help me with our computers?

Who knew that they would go get my socks and put them on my arthritic feet?

Who knew that they would  thrive in school?

Who knew that Aunt Emily and Uncle Brian would be such a help?

Who knew that Stephanie would be an angel for us?

I cannot go on vacation or get a week break unless, of course, I have a joint replaced...Oh, my.

So, this weekend I hired Stephanie, so I could sleep...A great vacation for me!!!!!

I stayed in my quiet and soft and lovely bed until 2:45 today...hmmmmm

Who needs Paris?

Tomorrow I plan the same trip!!

Wahoo...!!, says the tired old Grandma!!