Starry, Starry Night

This batik quilt was a surprise for my nephew. I can tell you that I have broken every quilting rule, regarding thread, known. Used polyester and cotton and all different weights

I've used machine quilting and hand quilting threads even though it's all machine quilted.

I've used non matching thread on the bobbin. I've used metallic thread on the top and cotton on the bottom. I've used polyester thread on the top and cotton on the bottom. Can you think of any more "sins"...that would be me.

I've gone fast when I should have gone slow. I've created non uniform shapes. Nothing is consistent......I like it though.

Here's why I'm such a "sinner": In making this quilt, I wanted it to have a bit of my dear Mom in it. She's no longer with us but her memory and what she stood for are firmly etched in my everyday life. Soooooo....what I did was use all of her left over thread found in her sewing basket...in this quilt. All of the half used thread spools are now in good use in this quilt, I call Starry, Starry Night because the haphazard quilting looks like the Van Gogh painting.

It is for my nephew, and will be appreciated, I know. My mother was known for her economy. He is somewhat the same way. Never cheap in anyway...she was as classy as they come, beautiful home, beautiful clothes, etc. She could make everything look like the White House on a Dollar Store budget. Tell me how you give 5 out of 5 children a college education, 3 of which went to private schools, on $10,000.00 dollars a year. It's baffling when I think about it. Truly, she was amazing. Honestly, I never saw her worry over money...but I'm sure she was on her knees plenty.

Here's my nephew and my mom, notice the well worn broom...He turned 25 on New Years Day.

Mom's first grandchild, my sister's son.

Just passing the time.....Sweeping....

It's a Wonderful Life.

Come on in and sit with me for a minute....


I was just thinking about how much fun I've had in the last 2 months. SO much had happened that I've kept under raps but really....it's all good.

My son stopped playing tournament tennis...and it's been great.

My daughter set new goals for ballet.


We had a ton of fun with 20 of us playing tennis on Thanksgiving day.


I still like to see him play...


Great life sport....if you can still walk. I have one brother in his early 50s that can hardly walk because of all the tennis and squash he played. Collegiate and national levels.


Of course, there's always this side of it.


This is my other brother, 15 years older than I. He's the oldest of our 5 siblings and I'm the youngest. We all think my brothers hung the moon. You would think we're a small country worshipping idols. Honestly, I'm quite sure they hung the moon.


My hero, of course, who hangs the planets as well.


Ummp.

Oooohhhhh....

Yep, I'm pretty sure....it's a wonderful life.

The Latest

First let me say...I've missed you too! I love hearing from my blogland friends, and thank you for checking in on me. I promise all has been well but with sick children and My Hero traveling every week, there's been a bit of an adjustment period. Something had to go and that was my blogging. It will have to take a back seat for a short period. Falling but not forgotten.

Now for the fun stuff:
My Nutcracker (12 year old daughter who loves ballet) and I (just the 2 of us) went to....

a very fun place, beautiful and chaotic at the same time.

Oddly enough, not very quiet,

but can be tranquil if you find a nice spot to sit and eat your lunch which you picked up that morning at the corner grocery as you walked to your ballet class.

This photo should give you a hint if you look at the gold shiny statue in the background (especially if you watch the Today show).

And this is the photo from our hotel room. That's right, Times Square. My Nutcracker and I went to New York this weekend to do a weekend curriculum called Passport to Purity by Dennis Rainey. The weekend focused on the importance of waiting until you're married to have...well, you know what. It was a wonderful venue to have those "odd" conversations. It was nice to decide on "when" to date and "who" to date and what certain kinds of peer pressure look like before you are actually "in the moment". Overall, a smashing success!

Highlights:
My daughter took a ballet class at "Steps on Broadway" (a ballet studio in NYC) from Gelsey Kirkland. Anyone know who that is? Probably the most famous American ballerina of all time. A tragic figure in some respects but seems to have come out on the great end of life. Her battle with a hard childhood, anorexia, plastic surgery, drug addiction and difficult relationships with Mikhal Baryshnikov and others led her to write the book, Dancing on My Grave. There were many parts of the book I didn't let my daughter read but some of it was beneficial in knowing what goes on in the mind of dancers.

Another highlight was getting a fitted for pointe shoes from a professional fitter at Gaynor Minden. Click on all of those pictures, it's exactly as it's shown. The showroom is in the Chelsea neighborhood in the most precious brownstone. See photos. There's a lot of controversy over these shoes in the world of ballet for various reasons but I swear they have cleared up a lot of "issues" we had with the other shoes. Mostly "fit" issues.

Another highlight:
Seeing Ground Zero...no pics but a haunting experience. Our tour guide said that New Yorkers really came together after that and everyone washed off their "ugliness" and became kind and genuine to each other. We really noticed it being tourists. Everyone was more than generous.

And the last highlight:
Wicked.

The Broadway musical. Encouraging story, full of forgiveness and learning to come out on top when the world is less than kind. If you haven't seen it...it's a flat must. Costumes are outstanding, story...phenomenal. Singing...to die for. I'd recommend it for all ages. Even my sports loving, corporate executive, never go to a museum husband would have loved it. We'll definitely see it again.

We also saw West Side Story....wished we had seen Billy Elliott or Jersey Boys instead. Those got great reviews.

In short, it was a wonderful weekend and a much needed getaway for me. I'll be thinking about it for ages! Now, for a little quilting...I'm doing the signature blocks, due at the end of this month. If you are not signed up for it, but are one of my readers, I'd love to have one of your blocks in my quilt. If you're interested, post a comment and I'll send my address to you and send my signature block to you as well.

Please know, all is well. And as they say in New York,
Take care.

We had so much rain in Atlanta while I was gone, so I came home to a lusciousness in my backyard.   Those are my girls' swings....used every single day without fail and a cute little playhouse.  As for the playhouse, I can count the number of times they've been inside it on one hand since we put it in 3 years ago.  

Any suggestions how I can make it more play friendly?

These are my heirloom tomatoes.  I can promise you they did not look like this when I left.  It's almost as if the steroid doctor came by everyday we were gone.  At one point they are over 10 feet tall.  The tomatoes were some of the best I've ever had.

What's your favorite variety of tomato?  This inquiring mind wants to know!

Enjoy!

Expand My Brain Please Lord!

These are the Rainbow Jane blocks I'll be working on for the next two weeks....That's a nice way of saying... "I need to EXPAND MY BRAIN!"  There are trials that we all need help with in life but this is one of those challenges in life where you just need an expert to sit with you for about the first 10 blocks....then, I think I'd have the techniques nailed down.  

For most of you this is easy and fun and a real pleasure...I do enjoy it but it's tough to work so hard at the piecing and then have it look like the neighbors cat did it.   moving on.....

(Just sneaking in a pic of my summer girls, ages 6 and 12)

Update on my Wavy Wipers....These have saved me this summer...here's the story...I've been spending 4-7 hours (I'm not kidding)  in the car everyday going back and forth to ballet, tennis and my boy's job (stringing tennis racquets).  

I've been knitting these goodies while waiting for them or even (I confess) at traffic lights.  I gave these three to Danny's mother-in-law who got tied up by the bad guy with the gun a few days ago.  I think she really liked them!  For that story, click here.  I talked to Jake, the father-in-law (probably in his 80's) who fired three shots at the guy and he said,

"I didn't know if Danny would do what the guy told him to so I had to go do something...we just can't do without Danny, he's been so good to us."  Jake broke out of his hand bindings and hopped upstairs to the kitchen to cut free his leg binding and then went after the guy.  Danny calls him, John Wayne.  

Because their house is so full of "Manly Men"...I had to take them these jalapeno, bacon-wrapped, cream cheese things that are to die for from Pioneer Woman... Recipe here.  All I know is that when I take these to ANY function....my plate comes home clean without fail.  I even make them for myself sometimes.

Here's the last of my Three by Three swap for Anina at Twiddletails.  Kind of Christmasy...after all it is July.

That's all for today...we're packing for our big trip to Montreat, NC...my college roommate is coming to stay with me for a bit so we have that to look forward to!  I'll keep you posted on all of our doings. 

 I think I'm even going to play tennis this summer for the firstish time in 15 years....did you know that I played college tennis (see the Salem College t-shirt above)?   Don't get too excited about that...my high school team was better than my college team!  My whole family plays tennis and I mean everybody...it's just that truly, I'm not a competitive person...My Hero loves to play tennis and I thought I'd give it a go for his sake.  When I look back 18 years ago, I think it was one of the reasons he married me!  

My best shot.... top spin lob to the baseline.

Ciao!

Danny

When we moved back here 4 years ago, we were fortunate to find a great tennis coach for my son (15 years old) who lives just a stone's throw from our house. Danny is this kind of fellow you want your kids around and to be influenced by. He's a neat guy, built an apartment in his basement for his in laws, taught both of his boys tennis (both played at Univ of Ga and won NCAA titles), a Harley rider, holds kids accountable, picks up my boy nearly everyday for practice, I could go on and on...

Yesterday at 1:00, with one 10 year old girl at his house playing tennis, they encountered a home invasion. A man with a gun tied everyone up, and shot Danny in the leg. The father-in-law freed himself and was able to get a few shots at the fellow thus scaring him off. The 10 year old watched the whole thing happen.

Danny was later released from the hospital with the bullet still in his leg. The man has not been caught yet. If you're a praying sort of person,,,please pray as you're led.

Happy 4th

Dolls!

Look at these sweet little dolls that my girls and I whipped up this afternoon.


Don't they look like they're giggling? Each of the girls drew their own face on their own doll.

It's the project from Craft Hope that we've already missed the deadline of June 13 but will jump in on some of their future projects. This particular pattern is the Black Apple doll pattern. Craft Hope is a wonderful organization that sends handmade toys and clothes to various orphanages around the globe. They've collected 405 dolls for children in Nicaragua.
Their current project is blankets, booties and beanies for children in India. Perfect for you knitting gals.



And last but not least, we couldn't resist....look what's inside each of the dolls....that's right...a heart...

After all, don't forget...
It's all about the heart!

Heat Stroke

Anyone ever had heat stroke? My son was in a tennis tournament yesterday and couldn't finish the match....very scary, he was super hot, then super cold, vomiting, confused, lethargic, memory loss, dehydrated, etc. His body had lost the ability to regulate it's own temperature....I got him home and into a cool bath with a jug of water and gatorade. Then to the couch to watch Judge Judy. As soon as he could tell me the story and verdict ...I knew he was OK.

This Atlanta heat is something else...everyone please be careful out there!

Happy Father's Day Daddy

Me and my Dad at the Georgia Tech homecoming in 1968. I was four years old. This was a big event for our family. We loved going to the Tech games and cheering on the Yellow Jackets! He was the Placement Director for Ga. Tech. At the time, this was a big deal because he was the guy responsible for making connections with all the big companies in America to get jobs for our graduates....still to this day, older men will tell me or one of my siblings what a great guy he was and how much he meant to them....that was 40 years ago and they still remember.

Needless to say he was a big man on campus and a bit of a celebrity locally. He was chosen by Tech, 6 months later to take a small group of carefully selected students to travel to Russia. Sort of an act of good will on Russia's part to let them in. In fact, they were the first Americans allowed there during the Cold War....can you imagine the stress. They arrived at the Leningrad train station; suffered his third heart attack and died. He was only 45. My mother was left with 5 children, ages 5-20. Her first husband was a WW2 pilot and was shot down...no children. After two husbands, she decided not to remarry.

My mother surrounded herself with fellow christians and a church full of support. One family friend, Philip, admired my father soooooo much. He actually took a trip to Russia years later and brought us back a picture of the train station. Oddly enough, Philip died at 45, as well, of a slow growing brain tumor. Philip was also the minister that married us. Both men had their funeral services at 2 of the largest churches in Atlanta and not a seat to be had in either one.

What made my father such a great man, to be admired by so many and still leave such an incredible legacy? Here's my take on it:
-He was kind.
-He genuinely cared about other people.
-He was a great father to me and husband to my mother. She claims they only had one fight in 20 years and that was over whether or not he should take a raincoat to Russia. Not bad, huh
-He was a gentleman and used him manners willingly.
-He was charismatic. People were just naturally drawn to his personality.
-He was a wonderful christian man.

Even though I was only 5 when he died, he is still teaching me today, by the way he lived his life 40 plus years ago.

Thanks Daddy.

My Babes

My precious Noel.... old faithful Noel...former guide dog, now with cataracts and a major case of diabetes. It's ironic how he use to guide folks across the street...now, I'm the one who has to tell him, "STEP"....that means he needs to take a step up or down.


We could learn a lot from our pets....his lesson would be all about unconditional love.


Or honor and respect.


Cici, love her to death but she insists on smelling as bad as she possibly can at all times. Even 5 seconds after a bath. What gives? I'm not sure what her life lesson would be...something involving a lot of anxiety I'm sure.


And then she tries to cover it all up by being cute and white and fluffy. It's not working with me today....


Here's my baby girl....sweet at the day is long....can you tell how hot it is in Atlanta today...98 degrees - that's even too hot to go to the pool. ahhhhh.

In case you need a reminder ....
go hug your babes today.

Feeling Like Gilligan

Yep....we were at the beach last week....so...why am I feeling like Gilligan?   Shipwrecked, you say???  Not exactly, but close.  Do you see one high rise or condo??  I know you may see a few homes in this photo but I swear, there is no one home.  Perfect for Brad & Angelina.

Remember last year at this same time??? Click here if you need a refresher.

That is my Life Flight story.  You would think I would have learned my lesson...about going to places with very small hospitals....but nooooooo.....we went to the beach where there was NO hospital.  Brilliant, right?  Luckily nothing happened and no one was eaten by a bear, although we were warned.  Bears at the beach...I'm not making it up.  

This is the adorable house we rented ....right on the beach and I mean... smack, dab on the beach.  Closest gas station...7 miles, closest grocery store... 20 miles, closest small town shopping (fast food, too)... 50 minutes, closest hospital...one hour.  

Now you know why I feel like Gilligan!  

We loved it...this is a little sand town  that Baby Girl and I made in the sand.  Complete with post office, shoe store, zoo and a general store with piece goods.

Plenty of shark fishing...

Plenty of sandcastle building....(made of 255 sand balls)

Plenty of catfish catching...

And plenty of squid baiting....

These were some of the first shark we caught...you're not so happy to see them after the first 20 catches! 

Oh and by the way...the rental company doesn't take credit cards..."if we're not here, just slide a personal check or cash under the door".

Needless to say...we rested.