Lucky Grandma O"Quilts

 Things I love about my grands, etc.  When  I really really need something, they do it for me.  Today  my DIL and grands picked me  up for errands and lunch, then without asking cleaned up  my kitchen, etc.   And, of course lots of hugs.  The grands all work and contribute to the family and my DIL is doing a wonderful job.

Things I worry about with that North Carolina family of mine:

They have three dogs, three cats, six kids and now for Father's Day, they all went to the snake store to get their father two snakes and a Gecko..????  Jeeze Louize.

I am so proud that my 16 yr old bought his own truck to fix up, but all shaky that he wants to "raise it up"   Whatever that means.

When I complain about my arthritis and fatigue....In  unison, they say, "Better old than dead"  Lordy!!  Always so exhausted..becoming a hermit....Guess I had better  follow up on that sleep study after all..

Midnight, one or two AM..it is hard not to feel the losses of the past.. Tonight I did some mindless tasks to relax..and watched a blah movie. I stripped the leaves off of the artificial dollar store flowers to make flower pens...All ready for action, I forgot electrical tape..

Lucky me loves a mistake...because I forgot the black tape at the dollar store...I found green tape on Amazon Prime Day...Much prettier for the stems than black..It will be here tomorrow.

I love my family...as for a pet...a cat would be wonderful...How my children ended up with chickens and snakes and expensive blue eyed dogs is so  beyond me.

Above is our Aoife showing her  4 classmates how she feeds her chickens...

Does Grandma Need to do a Chicken Intervention???

 I have a talented and beautiful daughter.  She has one too...Voila:  Aoife!!!

This family,  out in Oregon has gone ballistic about chickens...Here are some of the choice pictures:

Above:  the potholder I made for Aoife's play kitchen..Chickens from Spoonflower.

A crochet chicken as a pet for Grandma....a gift to  me???  OMG!!!

Above:  Finally Fig gave birth in the cat's basket in the third floor sewing room...Cat, Stitch, is so not  happy!  Below:  My amaryllis from last year's Christmas gift from Trader Joes, now in my garden

A kindergarten girl's idea of art in school

In a lovely hanging holder (made by Sherry)  are a few of my flower pens...Never to lose another pen in my house!!

I found this last year on the web.  It now is  on my apartment door.

The  question is???  Do the Portland relatives need a chicken intervention?

See below:  I can see that my family is so not alone in the love of a pet chicken.

Chickens as Pets in China

Chicken raising in Portland, Oregon

Having a Chicken as a house pet

New Popular Pet Amongst Millenials

Grandma O'Quilts is so Slowing Down

Finally my aches and pains allow a posting...Below is a bag made for a friend...Evidently, the bag must be about 4x7 and clear to enter some events.  I was going to make it from scratch when  I saw in our recycle store this bag for $4...  I cut the bag to size, added pretty laminate with glue and thread, jeans needles.  Voila!!  The next time I was in the store, I bought a handle to match from another bag.  This was so much fun.  The color is much brighter...a perfect birthday present.

Thank you Candace for the very first bloom this season of "Just Joey"  It reminds me so much of the rose my husband won a prize for at a rose show in Miami 40 some years ago...and since it was just the death date for him on the 14th,....11 years, this was a timely gift. xo

A true find from the art studio..Thank you Joyce...I cannot  wait to invent a project on which to place them.

A man upstairs turned 95 yesterday.  He had painted one wall in his apartment a watermelon color.  I call him Mr. Watermelon, thus a jar opener for his birthday.

Trudy and I went to the dollar store the other day.  I bought 2 pkg of pens and some artificial flowers.  That store was a rough experience, however, with a bit of electrical tape from  there, I came home to the fun and quick job of making flower pens for easy recognition.  I gave some to the receptionist  here and to others....I love them.

Very very proud of my daughter-in-law, Stasi...She laid the bricks, found the flag and planted her own garden in her very own home...So wonderful!!

This Portland hen goes by the name of Fig.  

Gathering eggs and patting chickens must be tiring work for a 5 year old.

And so,  Tell me how  the weather  can go from 4 days of almost  90 degree weather to a windy 60...brr..Ninety degrees spoiled me...

Grandma here and her arthritis wish you all happy sewing from the Carolinas.

Let the Sewing Begin...

My Wednesday night group helped me put together the flower pens.
From the dollar store came the pens, the flowers and the floral tape.
The children had a great time giving these out at open house to this year's teachers
and last year's teachers...We left some on the secretary's desk.....so fun.

I am getting hives from stress. and from this hip situation..
Going outside, I was able to have the attitude adjustment so needed.
Pinning the tissue holders.... tute from Skip to my Lou
Working on holiday gift giving now in August..
Gotta make good use of my recovery  time..

 Taking in Mr.O'Quilt's roses and of course his bluebird house.

 My sister loves me...more of my favorite flowers.

 The daily drama from our Lynsey
Bringing home lice from camp...We all had the fun today of de-licing the place!!
This girl is 8..She told me to get into the shower and she would do my hair
like her mother had done hers..
She read the instructions to me and proceeded.
Wow...I raised her allowance to $4 a week..
Love that girl..so smart.

Grateful my sister brought me chocolate ice cream with jimmies..
Thank you sister!!!
School starts tomorrow.
Buses come at 7:15
Wahoo...
At 9:00  Ten friends with ten sewing machines bring joy and laughter
to my house....a Sit and Sew..
xoxoxoxo

The Roots of my Love

Trillions of dollars have transferred to online fabric stores this past year from me to them....

Me, in desperation to try to keep myself out of the abyss and the midnight madness.

Trying so hard to keep a grip with pretty fabrics and pretty fabric dreams.

And, now...

Back to the roots of my love..scrap fabric, old clothing fabric.

The shirts worn with love by Himself.

Only one more shirt to cut up.
 It is time.

 Up close here, the flower pens we made for the front office at the school.

Pretty and happy and cheap and easy.

I have now read 9 widow books.  I learned something from all of them.
 I learned the most from this one:  CS Lewis, On Grief Observed
I might have written it. (well, not literally, emotionally)
I have now read it twice.( in the daytime..ha!!.)  I would buy it, but Muggs will not let me.
She does not believe in that.  She will just keep taking it out again and again from the library for me.
Never mind, I have taken notes into my I-Phone in case I need reminders. 

Among quotes that resonate with me...
"Grief is lazy..loathing the slightest effort of shaving or bathing."
"Expressed grief is an embarrassment to all I meet, making them uncomfortable"
"Grief is fear and concussion"
"She is dead and the reality of who she was becomes more and more my own reality" 

Oh, my...time for me to sign off,  my friends. 

Hot Water Lemon Tea and Chocolate

A forty year friendship from grad school..
.She flew in from Miami Thursday night for the weekend and left today.
What a boost!!  How grand!!
She brought chocolate for the children and I ate it.
My mother said I could!

 We did dollar store flower pens for a Mitzvah...

 Mamacita from the Wednesday night group turns 98 in June.  Her special mug broke.
Amazon Prime to the rescue...Margaret...we will never forget you are the boss!!

 Tonight's recoup...is starting coasters for the token end of school gifts...

Sometimes I say that nothing matters anymore.  That expression does not go down well with my family.
  So, I told my daughter today, that it is an early grief phase that I would move through and not to take it personally.  I told her that I would never off myself and that no one ever died from crying.
  She seemed relieved.   

 Once everyone was gone, I tackled my grief with two bowls of chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and surfed the web for fabric sales. 

 I do not really like to buy from Equilter because of their shipping prices.( although, they do give to charity)  However, I needed a bit of golf fabric for an end of school male teacher present..

.I found it on Equilter.and while I was there......well... that is all she wrote.

 In my peaceful, empty house, I napped in the sun and finished my fourth "Widow" book.
I think I will stop on the "Widow" books now...I am getting a touch of anxiety.

Everyone was gone today...Even the dog was on top of Crowder Mountain.

Shakespeare wrote, "Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak, whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."  (Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 3)

Thus, you will still be hearing from me!