My Wild Irish Rose and My Wild Southern Daisies

Just in from Cork, Ireland. Our Aoife, 11 months, the Wild Irish Rose.

My Wild Irish Rose

Picture from the beach:  Our Lynsey on the climbing wall.

The girls:  Ava and Lynsey

The Beach Boys...newly 16 year old Evan, 11 year old Dylan and their loving and generous step-father.

In my constant quest to accept my age and the physical issues that come with it, I got myself some online presents.  New canes...With brain drain and stress, I forget so much.  Now, I can have two in the car, two by the front door, one on the porch...Dear me..., just like my glasses.

Great time last night on Zoom...Charlotte's Modern Quilt Guild hosted 

Libs Elliott

Quilting fun takes my mind off the dismal and sad.  This was great.

Charlotte has a wonderful Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild

Some of my favorite take-aways from last night's zoom:

 Today was the first day that I did not cry in 2 months...Just a wonderful day.

Some of my furniture is back.  Friends and I had yummy lunch and visit at 

Cabo Fish Taco

Then, they came back home with me to brain storm and organize my newly painted and floored space.

Friends are good.  Friends are real good.

xo

We are All Just Walking Each Other Home,

 

A difficult grief day as I mourn my losses.

Day was made better....

Made better by friendship

Made better by the first sewing I have been able to do in weeks.

"We are all just walking each other home",  Ram Dass

Stitch Has His Day of Infamy...and More....

My grands at the beach in Florida  having so much fun.

Here at home, Lynsey's tomato plant is waiting.

It has taken 2 days for my flooring to be put in.  OMG..the dust..the mess. 

 But, the floor is in. Done is a great word. 

 I am getting used to manufactured wood...He said it was within the budget...of my insurance...After two months, I probably would have let them put down grass.

Had a lovely lunch. Someone went to Paducah and brought me home treats from the sale bin...

LOVE....Did I mention how fabric soothes my soul??

Under the ongoing mess from the flood, I found the barn star my daughter had had made for me in Portland, for Christmas...So lovely!! .

Today was uplifting....the above flowers from Linda as friends come, once again to save me.

She brought her man, who gifted us two new doors for the screened in porch.  He installed them and painted them...Amazing Grace...I am grateful...Bye-bye Mosquitos!! Thank God for Gary!!

Linda swept the porch.

A picture below of the new living room floor and the yellow paint.

This is my mother's gift to me....the hutch to hold the family china...Instead, it held my fabric stash.

I am now fixing up my entire house to suit the folks who live here. (two kids and one old grandma) Fabric will go back inside as soon as it is brought back from storage.

At first I hated the new floor...but since Done was such a wonderful word, I agreed to it.

Now, I am feeling quite pleased.

Our Aoife showing off her bathing skills at the homestead in Ireland.

And now...once again....Grandma O'Quilts goes south.

Yesterday was Stitch's day for infamy.  I was outside petting him and trying to remove a wad of gum from his fur when he bit me.  Siri told me that a cat bite was dangerous and I should be seeing a doctor within 8 hours of the bite....The tooth hit a hand artery and the blood spurted....I am protecting you from the nasty picture!!!  Urgent care, Tetanus shot, two antibiotics, and and x-ray to see if any pieces of the cat's tooth broke off in my hand....The bite was that bad.  I even cannot go to the pool next week...Sigh.

Stitch is five years old. He has never bitten anyone before.

Guess no one else has ever tried to pull gum off of him.

Grandma will not try that again.

Today, animal control showed up at the door.  I am supposed to quarantine Stitch for 10 days to check for Rabies even though he has had  his shots.

Maybe I am being tested for something?????  Enough testing already!!

My sewing machine and computer are set up again...TBTG and friends..

Friendship, sewing machine and a cinnamon scone..

What else would a person need??

 

Boo Takes the Cake

 The reconstruction of my life from the flood of 2021.

Bonus room:  now a lovely shade of green.

There had been a few boards taken off during the deconstruction, but when the painters finished this room, they plastered/ put drywall and painted it all over.  Six or seven hours later I heard a frantic meow...Dear Boo had been plastered behind the wall.  He could not get out.  OMG

Grateful for friendship, here is Linda's man Gary, to the rescue...cutting through the wall. Boo was out of there so fast, I did not even get a picture of him.

Our dear Boo, one life down, 8 to go!!

My newly painted raspberry sewing room.

The painters are finished....The living room a sunny yellow.

The flooring folks are supposed to come on Friday.  I am getting a bit excited after all the gruel.

This is a perfect week for the children to go on vacation.

A very fun lunch today with my widow group.

Once home...a delightful surprise!!!

My Marcia Derse Batiks finally arrived.

I am in fabric heaven.

This is the first time I have ever splurged on an entire collection.

More on the house.  Sunshiny yellow for the living room

My new red mantle....so very fun!!

From across the pond.....

Aoife meets her first Irish birdie from the barn..

Aoife is dressed for an outing.

Wishing I could share all this with my man.

Looking so forward to my sewing room being set up.

Grateful that so many people are holding my hand ..

Head Above Water!! Feet on the Ground!! Onward!!

Here is how we are living, my friends. Week 7 after the flood.

This is how the children and I deal with it.

The house, empty, now has an echo which delights them.

Someone does Tik-Tok and drama....her daddy's hat and her grandma's reading glasses.

The other one is on his game set absolutely screaming at the machine...OMG

Here is Aoife and her daddy enjoying their new house.

When a lovely package of Australian fabric comes from Dawn....this is their response to fabric....all fabric packages....they get excited to see a package....and it is FABRIC  ha ha ha!!

Of course they do clutch the cookies...and all this when dear Dawn included presents for them which they loved.

This treat from Cabbage Rose in Texas...going out of  business sale...is the fault of Marie.

She sent me a text from Iowa so I would not miss out on the sale...friends!!!!

Wabi-sabi quilts shared this interesting video Furoshiko Wrapping Cloths

Think I am going around the bend.  This is the second post I totally deleted by mistake....I had even saved it.  Where is my mind/?????  Send it back if you find it.!!

About my daughter.  The family is not moving to Ireland.  This is a summer home they bought when the family's neighbor moved to a nursing home..They are fixing it up to rent out for Air B&B.  Slow progress with a baby. I love watching the process.  It brings joy to my heart.

Meantime, the storm continues, as my only brother celebrates his 69th birthday in the hospital. He has cellulitis which has gone into the blood stream. He is on IV antibiotics.  I cannot do a thing about it...actually I cannot do a thing about most things, it seems...

I have not sewn nor read a book in a few weeks...I am sharing a few of Linda's Show and Tell.

Her repro is stunning..

A house warming present with meaning for the doggie they lost

And a DONE of a group quilt forever ago...

Coming home after the children's Karate, my  neighbors all out to meet me.

Life's miracles do shore us up.

Charlotte summer, 90 degrees and so humid.

Never mind says our Christmas (Thanksgiving ) cactus.. put out to pasture for two months already....

And, so it goes......

Shoshu....you are a dear to miss me. 

 If you send me your email address I can thank you properly

xo

PS...A phone call this evening...painters coming by tomorrow at 8 am to collect my paint chips and start taking down the fake paneling....Wahoo...I see the sun may shine this week.  Perfect timing as the children are off to the beach.

Another PS  I just heard back from my brother's wife.  They took his TV privileges away as he has no money...Can you believe that...OMG  I am disgusted...They moved him to a room with no TV.

Grandma O'Quilts Loves her Grands and her Daughter's New Irish House.

First born darling is Evan...turning 16 in two weeks.

Working his first job at Cici's pizza

Dylan, 11...showing off the hat, relaxing after cutting the grass...again.

In his banana shirt!!

My sweet Lynsey is 12 and a half...not 13, but me thinks she is precocious that way!!!

 Here is Dylan in his first Karate uniform, by then he had  turned 4

He starts Karate again tomorrow, thanks to God and a God-like friend.

He was trying this on for size!!

Irish cousins meeting for the first time. Aoife born in July and Abbey born the following January.

The Irish house

Aoife and her daddy show off their old Irish kitchen...IKEA kitchen has already arrived...in boxes.

Family is cutting the grass and arranging things. It is so lovely, I wish I was there.

(Of course, this is Ireland in the summer!!!!)

Emily said that they have their own Bay leaf tree in the  yard.

That is great since she and her man are marvelous cooks.

PS..for the love of family, I am including my "step grand"

She is not really mine, but then...she is a lovely part of our family.

Three year old Ava.

I love my family xo