blah, blah, blog

yep, I'm boring lately. Nothing much happening... and everything is really normal here.

Work is busy enough and I'm bugged on some issues that I won't discuss in a public forum, but nothing really awful.

Computer issues have kept my sweet husband busy trying to get our wireless network set up... without much success!

My sister has finally contacted an attorney to deal with her abusive (about-to-be ex-) husband.

Dear friends and my quilting both make me smile.

...may there be mercy, many smiles and a LOT of boring this year.

another homegoing

A dear friend said a loving farewell to her Daddy early this morning. She writes:

My sweet Daddy left us in such peace - with all of us around him in each others arms.

The visual that I get from that single line is wonderful. Surprisingly comforting and joyous, in spite of the reality of death. Yes, this kind of loss is sad as we are left behind. But the hope we have of knowing we will see him in heaven is glorious.

...may there be mercy and comfort for my dear friend and her family as they mourn.

rest days

I'm so glad that today is Friday and I get 2 days to rest!

Been a bit of a tough week. Not happy with several things that have happened. But... for the next 2 days, they don't exist.

What does exist... meeting friends for coffee, quilting, time with my sweet husband, good books and movies... and maybe a great "feed my soul" time at church on Sunday.

...may there be mercy and rest this weekend.

time to go home

There is a very dear man who goes to my church... and has ALS. Lou Gehrig's disease. I don't know him except to say hello in passing... but friends of mine are close to him. They have told me wonderful stories about his character and personality.

The disease has progressed as it will.

In the morning, his loving family will kiss him good bye. His ventilator and feeding tube will be removed and he will be allowed to go home to the arms of his loving heavenly father.

...may there be mercy, peace and comfort for each of them.

still busy

Work, family, quilting, life.... still busy, busy, but we are fine. Just didn't want anyone to worry!




...may there be mercy and laughter in the midst of busy.

date day

I've got a date with my sweet husband today! Yay! We're going to take our cameras out on this gloriously sunny day and see if we can find some eagles. We've been hearing that there are a bunch of them out upriver from us.




...may there be mercy and many fun date days.

tired

Busy... covering for others at work... tired... really, really tired.



...may there be mercy and strength for each day's need.

busy, busy

A few minutes ago, I got my third email checking on me since I've been absent from posting here for the last couple weeks. Wow... and thanks for caring my sweet friends.

We're okay! Busy with normal life, normal lack of sleep, work, and I have to confess to some quilting in my newly re-done Quilting Studio.

Thankfully the "busy" has just been the normal busy-ness of life and not the busy-ness of added stressful issues in life. After how stressful it was for us last year, we are really hoping for a break from some of those things for a while!

The rest of this weekend is still busy, but I'm thinking that I'll be back to a more normal blogging schedule soon.



...may there be mercy and blessings on my caring friends.

wild and glorious ride

Normal life - it's a wild and glorious ride full of ups, downs, happy days, sad moments, trials, joys, tears and laughter. Today marks 19 years of taking this riotous ride with my sweet husband... wow!

I am constantly amazed that he still loves me, and at how that love is demonstrated each day. He is an awesome gift to my life.

Happy anniversary, my love. Even though conflicting work schedules won't allow us more than a quick kiss good bye this morning and to say a sleepy good night (maybe) tonight... I'll hold you in my heart all day and be warmed by your love.

...may there be mercy and a very long wild ride.

before and after

The makeover of functional but cluttered sewing room into a Quilting Studio that is organized, functional and inspires creativity is done for now. Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! My friend KC absolutely ROCKS! Still need a couple things…

1. a curtain rod to hang the window curtain.
2. one blank wall is waiting for a quilt to be hung and that one is one that KC made me. Just needs a little bit more to be completed so I can hang it.
3. need to “build” the hanger for my very heavy, very solid ironing board. Have the board and hooks, need to paint the board and then assemble the whole thing behind the door.
4. need to find a small bulletin board that I can post info on classes I’d like to take and the supply lists.

Here are before and after pix… tried to take these pictures from the same angles, etc. to show the massive contrast!

This is taken from the doorway.

This is taken from the window looking at the sewing area.

This is taken from the sewing area, looking at the closet wall. Above is before, below is after. You can see above the computer is the space waiting for the wine themed quilt from KC.

...may there be mercy and much time for creativity.

step one

Paint is done and the color in this room looks rich! KC and I had a great time working together today. I'm thrilled with the color.

Tomorrow, step two... building furniture and reloading this room.

...may there be mercy as we enjoy our friendship and working together.

empty room

The cluttered sewing room is empty of everything save this computer. Walls have been spackled. Still need to vacuum... in the morning.

Morning will see me up early to see my sweet husband off to work. Then it's a fast shower, several cups of coffee and back to work.

Gotta tape off the whole room, shut down this computer, cover it with a drop cloth and then add enough drop cloths to protect my carpet.

One coat tinted primer, two coats color. KC and I can do that tomorrow easily. Still can't believe she is giving up her birthday weekend to do this room makeover with me.

Yep, tomorrow is KC's birthday. She doesn't know it, but I've made a quilt for her. It's a quilt that is all about friendship. More on that another time and in my quilt blog. Too tired right now!

Sunday will see us back at work putting together furniture and loading everything back into this room.

Monday... I'll start sewing again on a project just for me. After all the stuff I made for others for Christmas and December birthdays, it's my turn!

...may there be mercy and joy in friendship as we paint.

makeover magic

Am in the middle of a complete room makeover... turning my cluttered but functional sewing room into a beautiful Quilting Studio.

KC is going to spend this weekend helping me to do this, but I've got a lot of work to do before Saturday morning.

It's gonna be like one of those TV shows, but instead of a surprise to me, it's my Christmas gift from her... a gift of her time and talents. Yay!

...may there be mercy and I get all my pre-work done before Saturday!

Merry Christmas!

I had thoughts of a lengthy blog for today... expounding on what Christmas means to me. But it seems a far better thing to plagiarize straight from scripture.

...for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

... may there be mercy as we celebrate Christmas.

sucky days

Have been having a few sucky days. Hoping things will get better soon.

I definitely want my Mommy... and she is 1300 miles away!

...may there be mercy and a better day tomorrow.

better

My friend and almost-brother stopped by my office on Friday. It's been enough chaos trying to get the last of the Christmas gifts quilted that I'm behind on updating this information for those of you who read this and pray.

He brought me a latte because he knows I love coffee. Just a thoughtful little gesture that says that he is starting to climb out of the pit.

He is doing better. His eyes didn't show the same level of deep pain. There is pain still, yes, but the level is better.

I'm so very relieved to see this!

...may there be mercy and continued healing for my almost-brother.

safety and healing

My sister moved today... away from her abusive husband.

She is safe.

...may there be mercy and healing for her.

great company

Tired. Long day. Overtime.

But...

My company rocks. Totally and completely rocks.

We were told today that each employee will receive a very generous bonus and checks will be handed out on Friday.

Did I mention that my company ROCKS? !!

I'd hoped for a bonus, because they historically have given one as a thank you at the end of the year. I never count on it or spend it until money is in hand.

But I dream of what I might do if a bonus shows up!

This year's dream... make over the sewing room. Change it from a functional, but cluttered and space challenged room to a Quilting Studio that inspires creativity.

The dream included all kinds of budget options. How very cool that I can go with a higher end budget for this dream room!

...may there be mercy and joy as we do this room makeover!

disappointment

My sweet husband has been waiting months to hear about a job opportunity. Today we found out that the job has been canceled completely.

...may there be mercy as we manage disappointment tonight.

mama's hands

Maybe because today is Mama's 74th birthday, I've been thinking a lot about her this week. About how much she did for us as kids. About the things she taught us to do. About the things she taught us to love.

When I was 18 months old, I had corrective surgery for crossed eyes. I actually remember being in the hospital and kicking the doctor in the chest because he wanted to look at my eyes with a light... but my eyes hurt and I didn't want him to look.

But I remember more the fact that Mama stayed with me the entire two days I was there. Waking up every hour in the middle of the night, scared because I was not in my bed and there were bandages over my eyes so I could not see, saying, "Mama?"

And her hand on my forehead, smoothing my hair back, her sweet voice in reply, "yes, baby, I'm still here."

When I went home from the hospital, I had a brand new pair of glasses that Mama let me pick out. Smart woman that. Knowing that if I got to pick my favorite color, I'd wear them. Never caring when I picked pink, red, purple... didn't matter to Mama. She knew I'd wear those darn glasses because I got to pick them. And because Mama made me new dresses to match my glasses!

Yep, I was a clotheshorse that early.

I learned to love sewing by watching Mama make my dresses. When I was really small, I'd stand on a stepstool, elbow on the edge of the machine, chin on my hand, eyes riveted to the movement of the fabric... head bobbing up and down in time with the needle. As I got older, the only change was the stepstool. Didn't need it anymore since I got so tall so early.

And I could hardly wait for Mama to teach me to sew. She made such pretty things with all that sewing. Dresses for my sister and me... and our dolls. Shirts and pants for my brothers. Curtains for our windows. Purses and aprons and pillows. She could sew anything!

And my favorite part of watching Mama sew was to see how her hands held the fabric... and how she used them to pin... and how those beautiful hands would guide the fabric through the machine... fingers jumping out of the way of the needle. Pop, pop, pop... out of the way, one by one, just at the last second.

I saw Mama's hands today as I sewed.

My hands hold the fabric just like she did. My hands pin fabric just like she did. My hands guide the fabric the same way... fingers jumping out of the way of the needle. Pop, pop, pop... out of the way, one by one, just at the last second.

It was very cool to realize and felt like I'd gotten a big hug from Mama today.

Happy birthday Mama... I love you so very much.

...may there be mercy and many more birthdays for Mama.

peaceful evening

a lovely evening.

a nice glass of wine.

a wonderful meal.

dear, dear friends.

great conversation.

lots of laughter.

my godchildren's smiles.

...may there be mercy and many evenings like this one.

promises

This morning, on the spur of the moment... or maybe at the gentle prodding of my Heavenly Father... I called my friend to ask him if he had plans for lunch.

My almost-brother who introduces me to others as the "sister he never wanted."

My friend for whom I've been praying mercy and peace in his time of distress.

It was an intense conversation. Everything in his life seems to be falling apart. His pain is very real.

He talked about everything with me. His face would turn red from his efforts to hide his tears from me. But he talked.

... and admitted that he had planned for suicide.

... and that he is seeking professional help to get past it.

We had a long talk. Long enough that I was late returning to work. But I didn't care about that. Time can be made up at work. Encouraging this friend was more important.

But most important was the promise he gave me - that he would call me or someone if he got to his breaking point again.

My heart breaks for him...

... may there be mercy, healing and peace for my friend, my almost-brother.

mercy

I'm sick...

...may there be mercy and I get well without bronchitis.

My sister is leaving her abusive husband...

...may there be mercy and safety her.

My friend is still in distress...

...may there be mercy and peace for my friend.

closest book

These instructions and initial commentary are taken from my friend Paul's blog (Paul's Thinking Place)... and below is my response.

From Paul's Thinking Place: "I have no clue what a "meme" is, but I saw this one on Mark Ostreicher's blog, and thought it was pretty cool. Most of the time, I find reading other people's "memes" somewhat interesting at the best, silly at worst, but this one actually struck my fancy for what it might say about what people are reading... and authors are writing. So here are the rules:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest!"

Okay, I can follow these rules.

I grab the closest book and since my computer is in my quilting studio, of course the book is a quilting book! The Magic of Quiltmaking, A Beginner's Guide by Margaret Rolfe & Jenny Bowker.

Page 123... hmmm... in the middle of a quilt pattern, okay. Here goes:

Square up one end of each strip. Measure the strips to fit the length of the quilt, referring to "Butted Corners" on page 73. Cut the strips to this length. Pin and sew the border strips to the quilt sides. Press the seam allowances toward the borders.

Now that y'all are bored outta your ever-lovin' minds with my closest book... but it was a good reminder for me on adding butted corner borders... take your turn and do the closest book thing on your blog.

...may there be mercy and enjoyment in our reading.

...and may there be continued mercy and peace for my friend in distress.

mixed emotions

Today was one of those really lovely days of fun with my best girlfriend. KC and I had planned to have a girl's day out on Thursday, but the weather just did not cooperate and we postponed it until today.

We talked and shopped and found gifts for her kids (my godchildren) for both kids birthdays and Christmas and fun things for ourselves and lunch and... just fun. Nothing huge in the way of a big deal or big event. Just the simple pleasure of girlfriends enjoying time together.

What a great day to end my vacation.

And at the same time... I am still so very concerned about another friend. For those who read this blog and pray, please just pray much for my unnamed friend in distress. It really is a big deal.

...may there be mercy as I return to work.

...may there be mercy and peace for my friend.