Pushing the Envelope in Color and Design...

 I gave my awesome PT a Halloween potholder.  He told the OT that it is the only potholder they have. He loves it but it is seasonal.  Today I asked him what his colors were....OMG he said that he felt African fabrics were over the top, and gaudy....OMG....He said he likes nature tones and is a minimalist. Jeeze Louize....I am  in trauma...How can I make potholders like that??????

Tonight I came up with these two minimalist, nature colored potholders....It's a  real stretch for me.

I am giving him two.  I will put these two in the pack of 10 and let  him choose.  Very interesting to see what it will be.. I think I got the nature colors correct, do not know about the minimalist???

Aoife is growing by leaps and bounds. She can now count from one to ten....She only leaves out the 3, 7 and 10!!  Thats ok...

For sure she is starting out early on the sewing....

Her  family is way so proud.

The 13 year old grandchild, Lynsey is asking for a goat for Christmas...OMG

I slept a lot today...I am just going along with it.  I open my back door with the screen attached.

I lean back in my recliner to enjoy the breeze...Ooops...sound asleep goes this old lady

Is that called retirement????

Halloween in Portland

e

Two year old Emily in pumpkin costume I made for her 38 years ago

Below, two year old Aoife in the same costume.

Meantime, Aoife's daddy made a spider cheese with pastry

Halloween as only a two year old can do.

In the glow of being an only child.

Below, the Halloween quilt I made  years ago.

Family gifts of love...My sister brought my favorite flowers,

My girl sent my very very favorite chocolate,  From Portland came, just in time for Halloween, Tony's pieces with crisps and nuts....LOVE!!

It seems like only yesterday!!!! Aoife at 4 months.

Last year, chicken and the egg!

The Charlotte grands went with their  cousins and  had grown up fun.

I fell on Sunday  night....It put me right down in the dumps.  Pearl was clamoring at the door, but  I called security....She scadaddled!!!!! Once again, I only hurt my pride.  This is the  gift of being a substantial woman.

Grateful for my sister's help today and all the friends who put up with me.

Happy yesterday's Halloween and welcome to November!!

ps..Thank you for all the nice comments the past few weeks while my head was adjusting....once again.

Lots of hugs and love to you all!!

 

A Lovely Carolina Weekend

Samson was born October 5, 2022.  Pattern chosen, fabrics chosen, blocks made.

Tomorrow I will sew  the blocks together..Nice progress....an "Eye Spy" or memory quilt. There are two blocks the same for matching game. Terrible pix...more later.

My grands are visiting....swimming in the pool here, eating pizza here and planting Grandma's pansies.

Goodness, it is so wonderful to see them.  They are now 12 and 13 and out with Aunt Charmaine.  She missed them too!!

  

Dylan is so smart with tech...He took the new TV from under my bed.  He figured it out, attached his game machine, found the internet passwords, etc and,,made himself a place on the blown up mattress under a sewing table for relaxed fun.  He had a wonderful time.

My girl in Portland loves Halloween as did her mother before all the drama hit.

Back into it now as I am getting better.  She is making Halloween special for two year old Aoife and her dog Rosie.  She is sewing...it is the only way.

🙌

Rosie is such a sweet and patient dog.....oxxoxo

I mean, posing with fabric...wow.

Brave Grandma has a dentist appt at 11 am....Very brave Grandma!

Great Memories

A gift of love from Heather...Already on my wall above my computer.

Two marriages.  My man and I in 1980.  My daughter and her guy, 2015.

Emily and I both married at 32.  Thirty five years apart.  Love..xo

Quilts in the dining area

I am only putting lovely things up in my new place.

I feel happy.

xo

 

Lordy, Lordy

Today was my day for the 2 hour free quilt hanging, shelf hanging, hook hanging, etc.

I am delighted to have my new home bursting with my own treasures, as the front fabric studio gets its personal touch.

My bedroom sort of settled

In dark and cold and breezy Portland, Aoife and her dog Rosie, prepare to go for their nightly walk with their parents.

A new apartment would not be the same without tea and cookies.

 What in the world came over me???

My leaving blogland is so not for me...all my blogging friends??  NO!!

And so, it was shortlived..my fuzzy thinking.😊

Getting Better

Thanks to my move, thanks to friends, thanks to physical therapy, thanks to occupational therapy, emotional therapy--all on site, thanks to reduced responsibilities, nightly meetings and the pool, 

 I am getting better and I have hope again. My constant, chronic pain is gone. I feel safe.

A true miracle. The last 9 years have taken a toll on me.

From scraps, today I finished a small quilt, already basted.

I went into Trader Joe's.  Bought myself some of my sunny favorites.

My niece, Alexis had her 36th birthday yesterday

I made this present for her:

The placemat has two sides.

To the back side, I pinned 36$

A few years ago, my son lived far away.  He took two buses and a train to bring this Foxglove to me on Mother's Day.  He has always had a wonderful heart.

The pot is from my grandmother's garden.

Potholders for gifting;

Sneaky me found out their favorite colors.

Mailed a few to California for a birthday gift.

It is the strangest thing....Somehow, for the first time in probably 13 years, I do not feel like blogging any  more.  Maybe a rest is in store...ox

 

Bedtime

Only a grandma would go gaga over a two year old.....

Carol and Tom came to visit from Kansas City....just passing through to see friends and family.

Joy, pure joy, lifted my spirit with a generous lunch at  Kabab-je, shared news, saw my new place...so wonderful...And, she seemed to know what I love!!!!!! Look at the awesome African prints..I cannot wait to cut them up....a basket maybe?

Carol is a quilter with great design and color sense..

For some odd reason, out of the blue arrived Pearl...Jeeze Louize.  She reminded me of all I had lost and ones I still love with serious illness..  I have a great support system.. but she snuck in when I was not looking. I was fighting with her all day.  The common expression of, "be positive", does not work with grief. It just makes it worse to have folks pass judgement.

My car broke.  On driving to the mechanic with worse case scenarious in my head....Dear Michael fixed it by replacing the batteries in the fobs....OMG

My wonderful physical therapist is trying to make me do something I cannot do.

I am supposed to practice standing on one foot...OMG OMG  It just makes me feel like an old failure!!

I wobble and wobble and he just says keep on keeping on.

I Facetimed my daughter.  Aoife will not speak to me other than.."shoo Nana"  Nice 2 year old behavior.

Here is the family on one of their many nature trips in Oregon.

Looking at the waterfall and the size of little Aoife, makes me stop to consider the power of nature and how insignificant we are.

Picasso...the meaning of life

With my electric Accuquilt, squares from Halloween fabric.

From my garden window, the clouds and changing trees.

Taking my crabby self to bed now.

I am leaving my back door cracked so Pearl  can get out.

She is never here at the morning light  xoxo

Night

 

Doing the Next Right Thing

 Today has been a world weary worn kind of day.

I so realize that I am soon in the fourth quarter of my life. I do not have energy and of course no stamina at all.  I miss my husband.  I grieve my son's disease and with trepidation and hope that I  can get better.  Already  I am walking better, thanks to a darling physical therapist.

When Emily visited last week, she brought fresh tomatoes from their family garden.  Tonight they made the best sandwich.

Still finding things, like my man's Irish teapot, now on the stove to cheer me.

The Halloween mug- rug Lynsey gave me last year.

While the movers lost a Halloween box, I am doing the best I can.

Made some pillow covers with African fabric...Love...

My healthy DIL took my advice to make and do something that enriches her as she loves baking.

Sad me did not get one taste....but I was proud of her.

I would buy her a sewing machine in a heart beat.  She is a natural....but she says she cannot fit it...not true. However, she is right about being busy with 5 kids, 3 cats, one pit bull puppy and one ferret and a job as a preschool teacher.                                             

Once I moved, I had thought I would get better fast...I have, but I am still exhausted and worn out.  What I did not realize, is that my friends would get older too. including my sister.

 Sigh

A cleaning lady is coming tomorrow  TBTG

I need somethings at the grocery store.  I struggle to get them from the car to the apt in my far away parking spot.  But I realize, there is only one of me now, I can schlepp it a little at a  time...resting in between, just like other old ladies.  No need for a huge shopping.

I have had friendly instructions not to eat or drink at my computer  Tonight I forgot..and spilled a comfort drink on the keyboard.

I struggled and struggled to find another iron with automatic shut off.  Today, two came today, one from Amazon and one from Walmart.  I only remember ordering one. I guess it is too much to expect to heal my broken heart in one month.  I am so grateful I am here.  I love it.  I love not having to worry about kids fighting and grass cutting and homework....albeit I so miss them.

Yesterday I went with my appointment card to Walgreens for my Covid booster and my flu shot.....It was so crowded, packed...Everyone was wearing a mask. I bought myself two candy bars on sale, one for each shot.  Butterfinger.  I do not care anymore as my movie star days are over.  And, no reaction at all to either shot...unless I can blame ordering two irons on that!!

Doing the  next right thing means getting out of bed, brushing my teeth without whining...I do not want to do that.  Doing a load of laundry, reading on my lovely porch.  And accepting that I am no longer 21...Dear, dear me!!!

One More Happy Day

 My new lift chair the OT insisted on, came today.  So comfy.  My  home made Guatemalan cover  fits perfectly.

Sherry put it together...Of course no one likes it having their picture taken.  I do it anyway.  She deserves the rest here..

The shirt below Emily made while she was here....a test pattern with little grey sheep on white from my stash.

Instead of Prozac, everyone needs a sewing machine...Making bowls is sooooo relaxing.

My OT thinks I should keep it by my front door with all my keys in it.  So she just did it!!! 

Green bowl was made tonight as I enjoyed a Zoom

I gave Aoife this Halloween quilt, one of my favorites.  We made a story about it and Emily took it home.  Hopefully, it will be one of her favorites too

Emily says Aoife loves quilts....Good girl!!

I was just sharing with a blogging friend, that eventually the clouds run out of rain...too bad we worry warts..forget that.

This was such a lovely day.

One more big shout out for Sherry for fun lunch and my chair.

Most important joy today was my accomplishment in PT.  I walked all over the place with no pain on the walker...Just maybe there is hope.  He now wants me back on the cane....YAY!!!