Grandbaby Claire's Quilt

My grandma taught me to sew when I was in fourth grade.
I remember my first project was a jumper for my county fair 4-H project.
For days before the fair my dad or mom would drive me into
town and I would spend the day with my grandma, learning to sew.

Grandma sewed most of my clothes as I was growing up.
There were some outfits that I made, too.
That was at least 30 (ahem..more than 30) years ago.
And I still have fabric from many of those outfits.

Recently I made a quilt for our
Soon-To-Be-Born Grandbaby Claire
from fabrics I used to wear.
It is somewhat embarrassing to say that the
pink and white checked material in this
picture were pants I made in seventh or
eighth grade.  The solid pink fabric was a
matching blazer that I wore with the pants.
Wild outfit!


There are a lot of memories for me in this quilt.

Flowers were blanket-stitched onto the quilt top.

 

The top of a quilt, in this case the patchwork squares,
are joined with a middle layer of quilt batting and
a bottom layer of fabric by either machine or hand stitching
or tying the layers together.
I opted to try machine stitching  but my practicing of
fancy scrollwork often seen on quilts was
just awful.  Well, it wasn't just awful,
it was terrible. The instructional videos I watched
stressed practice, practice, practice and now
I know why!

Google search saved the day for me.
I searched for machine quilting ideas and
found a website that showed straight-stitch quilting.
Sewing rows and rows of stitching...straight lines.
Score...I can do that!

As I sewed line after line I felt like a farmer
plowing row after row in a field.  There was
progress being made with each row but there
were so many more rows to go!

What a fun time I had with this project.
The best part is yet to come...watching Baby Claire
drool and hopefully snuggle with this blankie.

 

The End of an Era

The Husband and I reached the end of an era.

All three of the Kidlets participated in city youth sports as they were growing up. From tee ball, soccer, baseball and hockey, we've been involved for over 25 years.

Last weekend it came to an end.

Kidlet Three's hockey team skated so hard and won their district playoffs.
At the regional level, they played three games and then were done.

And that ended our youth sports.

Kidlet Three will be playing high school sports from now on.

 

It was sad knowing friendships will change.
Kidlet Three's friendships with teammates
and
The Husband and I have made many friends in the parents.
Now our boys will be playing against each other
on high school teams.

The end of an era of city youth sports.
Happy, sad, and exciting.
It's been an amazing era.

Steak with Garlic Butter and Mushrooms

We haven't had steak in a very long time.  Recently we filled our freezer with a quarter of beef and one of the first meals I made was steak.

Too bad I didn't keep the recipe I used.  There was a lot of minced garlic cooked in a whole lot of butter.  As I cooked the steaks I spooned the buttery goodness over the meat.  Oh, and the sliced mushrooms soaked up the garlicky-goodness as they softened in the butter.

Our meal was complete with slices of American Soft Bread and baby carrots for some crunch.

Plate-licking was allowed... 

 

Gosh, We've Got It Good

I was sitting here at the computer when this overwhelming sense of thankfulness washed over me.  The reality of all that I have flashed through my mind.

These homes...yes, they are homes, were in an area of Saltillo, Mexico that I visited several years ago on a missions trip.  There were also cardboard box homes.

My home is more than adequate, extremely comfortable, warm and keeps me safe.

I sat in a restaurant tonight reading through the four-page menu trying to decide what to eat.  There were so many choices, it was hard to decide what I needed.  Really?  What food I needed? 



This rocky area is a park.  Again, in Mexico.  Our group was directed here to set up a vacation Bible school since this is the area in which the neighborhood children play.  They play with rocks and hard-packed dirt.

I have a lush, grass-covered lawn with flowers, trees and shrubs.

And I have my health.  I am so thankful for my health.  My knee rehab continues and will for several months.  But I can walk/limp.  I can breath without assistance.  I can come and go, and go, and go and go anywhere. 

Gosh, I've got it good.

Reader, do you realize all you have?  You at least have a computer or smart phone to read this blog on.  Do you have a home?  Do you have an abundance of food?  Do you have the ability to enjoy green grass, parks or lakes in which to play?  And do you have your health?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions I would say to you:  Gosh, you've got it good.

Gosh, we've all got it good.

Throughout your day, why not whisper a thanks to God for everything you are thankful for. 

I bet you won't run out of things to be thankful for.

Because, we've got it good.

Going Through My Head...

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Barbecue Cups

I'm back blogging.
The days are flying by despite my
working only five hours a day at my job.
Plus...
We are painting and the house is in chaos.
Sheetrock dust is ALL over.
Kidlet Three's hockey team just won district playoffs.
We had out-of-town guests seeking medical care
at the medical center here.
I'm sewing diapers.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I'm sewing diapers but more on that in another post.

Tonight we needed something other than frozen pizza for supper.
It has been a long time since I made Barbecue Cups
but based on the fact Kidlet Three went back for seconds...
these were a hit for our supper.

Preheat over to 425 degrees.
You can use refrigerator biscuits but I
made mine from scratch.
Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick.
The mouth of this large glass is a
perfect biscuit cutter.
 

Spray or grease a muffin pan.
Place one biscuit in each cup.
 

Brown ground beef and add your favorite barbecue sauce.
Tonight I used Sweet Baby Rays.
Simmer until the sauce thickens.
 

Place a large spoonful of the barbecue
into each biscuit.
 

Add a pinch of shredded cheese to each cup.
Usually I use cheddar cheese but we didn't have any.
Tonight it was shredded mozzarella and it was good.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the biscuits
are golden brown.
We had fresh peas with our meal.

 

A nummy, amazingly-good supper. 

I can relate...